The New York Giants need Daniel Jones to get back on track in 2024, but he’ll have to do it without Isaiah Hodgins. He’s “not expected” to receive a tender offer from the Giants in 2024 NFL free agency.
Hodgins “will hit the open market,” according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. The latter also noted how Hodgins “showed major promise upon joining the Giants midway through 2022, when he had 351 yards receiving and four touchdowns in eight games.”
Those numbers let Jones thrive during the run-in of a breakout campaign. The Jones and Hodgins connection also helped the Giants win a playoff game on the road against the Minnesota Vikings.
Hodgins went from a go-to target to a relative non-factor in 2023. It didn’t help Jones appeared in just six games after signing a four-year, $160-million contract.
Isaiah Hodgins Was Forgotten in 2023
Last season should have been a breakout campaign. He’d enjoyed a strong stretch run and knew the offense well from his days working for head coach Brian Daboll with the Buffalo Bills.
That knowledge helped Hodgins enter the playoffs having been targeted by Jones at least six times in three of five games. Hodgins went on to burn the Vikings for eight catches, 105 yards and a touchdown in the Wild-Card Round, per ESPN Fantasy Sports.
At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Hodgins provided Jones with a big-bodied receiver who could win between the numbers and on the outside. That’s how it should have worked, Hodgins and Jones rarely clicked again.
Instead, the 25-year-old was targeted just 33 times in 17 games, nine fewer targets than he had in eight games the previous season. The Giants were trying to feature other pass-catchers, including tight end Darren Waller and rookie deep threat Jalin Hyatt.
Their presence, combined with a myriad of issues at quarterback, left Hodgins on the fringes. It’s likely why the Giants are opting against using the restricted free-agent tender worth $3 million, but wanted to retain Hodgins at a cost of $1.5 million, according to NorthJersey.com’s Art Stapleton.
The decision was cost-effective, but still risky given how much the Giants need Jones to prosper.
Giants Need Daniel Jones to Bounce Back
Choosing to pay Jones still looks like a major misfire by the Giants. Yet, general manager Joe Schoen remains tethered to the contract he handed to No. 8.
The deal looked like money wasted when Jones was swarmed upon for 30 of the 85 sacks the Giants gave up last season. He also dealt with a neck injury before a torn ACL landed him on injured reserve in Week 9.
Schoen admitted Jones’ history is “something we’ve gotta consider,” per Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper. The GM laid out plans to add to football’s most important position during free agency, something the Giants did when they agreed to sign Drew Lock on a one-year deal.
Lock will be Jones’ backup, but Schoen and Daboll will be hoping the chosen QB1 delivers. Jones will need more receiver help to do that, even though Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson are potentially dynamic options.
Not bringing Hodgins back at least creates room for the Giants to find a tall playmaker for the passing game via this year’s draft. That won’t be a problem for a team owning the sixth-overall pick.
