kadarius toney

Giants’ Kadarius Toney already showing insane qualities with one stat

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The New York Giants unleashed rookie receiver Kadarius Toney against the New Orleans Saints, and he ended up being one of the catalysts that fueled the offense to a victory in Week 4.

With Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton out with hamstring injuries, Toney will once again be a priority for the Giants in the passing game against the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. Last week, Toney enjoyed 50 total snaps, 40 of which came on passing downs.

His snap count increased to 78% with the injured receivers, but that number will likely hover in that area if not increase as the season progresses. The Florida product tallied 78 yards on six receptions, being targeted eight times by quarterback Daniel Jones. The Giants even tried a trick play where Toney threw the ball downfield, attempting to exercise his former quarterback lineage.

The Cowboys are riding a three-game win streak as they prepare for the Giants, and one of their young cornerbacks has recorded five interceptions this year, Trevon Diggs. The Cowboys sit just behind the Giants in points allowed per game at 24.3 but are doing a great job of limiting opposing rushing attacks, simply because their offense is so potent, teams are passing as they trail behind by multiple scores.

Dallas’ passing defense ranks toward the bottom of the league, giving up 315.3 yards per contest, but again that correlates with opposing teams passing the ball frequently to maintain pace with their offense. The Giants will be tasked with slowing down a red hot unit. They must control possession and milk the clock for as many minutes as possible. The goal is to sustain long drives while scoring touchdowns and not field goals.

Getting the ball into their playmaker’s hands is essential, which is where Toney makes his presence felt. Against the Saints, Toney forced five missed tackles, being tackled six times in total. If you factor that into his numbers, his performance is far less effective and productive without his shifty abilities and quick-twitch movements.

Toney gave some insight into how he approaches making tacklers miss, and he’s going to have to exercise that attribute against Dallas if the Giants want to have any chance at emerging victorious in Arlington.

“The process is really just more of, if he goes left, I’ve got to go right,” Toney said Friday. “It’s just kind of like playing freeze tag, something like that. It’s that kind of feel when you’re out there.”

Kadarius was known for his insane center of gravity and effort at Florida, and those characteristics haven’t dwindled at the NFL. In fact, it seems as if they’ve been maximized.

New York Giants: Kadarius Toney will be the X-factor in Week Five

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kadarius toney, new york giants

The New York Giants‘ offense had a breakout game last Sunday. The Giants earned their first win of the season and improved their record to 1-3. New York’s offense willed them to a thrilling 27-21 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints. Daniel Jones, Kenny Golladay, and Kadarius Toney developed a chemistry that took the team’s offensive attack to a new level.

For the first three weeks of the season, Jason Garrett and the Giants were criticized for misusing their 2021 first-round pick, Kadarius Toney. The UF wide receiver was not making an impact in the Giants’ first few games. But in Week Four, Toney had a breakout performance that the Giants will want to build on. To beat the Dallas Cowboys in Week Five, the Giants will need to have an explosive offensive performance that sees Kadarius Toney make a real impact.

Kadarius Toney the X-Factor

As good as the Dallas Cowboys offense has been this season, their defense has been equally as bad in some regards.  For example, the Dallas Cowboys’ defense has given up an insane amount of yardage after the catch. The Cowboys give up 190 yards after the catch per game (most in the league).

This is where Kadarius Toney comes into play. Toney is a YAC machine. In college, Kadarius had a 35% missed tackle rate, constantly breaking tackles and creating plays with the ball in his hands. We have seen him produce similarly in the NFL, too.

Kadarius Toney is averaging 7.7 yards after catch per reception this season. 77 of his 92 receiving yards have come after the catch. Toney has forced 6 missed tackles this season on only 11 touches.

The New York Giants are not winning this game on the back of their defense. The Dallas Cowboys’ offense is simply too good. The way that the Giants win on Sunday is by beating a good offense with a good offense. It should be a shootout down in Dallas. The Giants have not scored over 30 points in a long time and that needs to change on Sunday.

The New York Giants have something special in Kadarius Toney and it’s time to unleash him

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new york giants, kadarius toney

The New York Giants snuck out of victory against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon, marking their first win of the season. After starting the year 0-3, the Giants’ offense enjoyed signs of life, as quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 402 yards and two touchdowns.

Long receptions to John Ross and Saquon Barkley resulted in scores from Jones, both of which were over 50 yards downfield. Coordinator Jason Garrett finally opened up the playbook and created more explosive plays against a top-rated New Orleans Saints defense.

However, despite losing Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton for the game, the Giants still managed to score 27 points, thanks to the performances of WR1 Kenny Golladay and rookie Kadarius Tony.

The two receivers combined for 194 yards and 12 catches, as this was Toney’s most active game after struggling to make an impact to open the year. His quick-twitch abilities and agility were on display, as he hauled in six receptions for 78 yards, including a long of 21. However, he made a number of important grabs, including several first downs, one of which was a 3rd-and-18 screen pass he maneuvered his way around.

It is clear that Toney is capable of being an elite playmaker, but the Giants must continue to build and design plays around extracting his talent. During his senior year with Florida, Toney posted a 35% forced missed tackle rate, the highest of any pass-catcher in college. Those attributes are clearly translating to the professional level, as he sent linebacker Demario Davis flying on multiple occasions, using his stop-and-go abilities.

It is time for Garrett and the offense to fully unleash Kadarius, as his route running has developed nicely this off-season, and getting him in space spells trouble for any defense. With a tough game in Arlington next week against the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants will need all of their star playmakers, and Toney must be included in the game plan. Garrett is known for changing the strategy on a weekly basis, but this is a player he cannot leave out given his tremendous impact in the Week 4 win.

New York Giants: Kenny Golladay and Evan Engram set to play

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New York Giants, Evan Engram

The New York Giants, for the most part, haven’t had all of their weapons on the field at one time this season. While Saquon Barkley was able to come back in week 1, the Giants have dealt with a number of other injuries and names such as Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, and Evan Engram have either missed time or been at risk of doing so.

The big absence in the receiving game for the first two games of the season was Evan Engram. In a situation that will be familiar to Giants fans due to past experiences with Engram, the tight end entered the season with a calf injury and wasn’t present in either of their two losses. That is set to change in today’s game against Atlanta.

This will be Engram’s season debut, while Golladay and Toney on the other hand played in the first two games but ended up on the injury report after the Washington loss. Also appearing at tight end will be Kaden Smith, who was limited in practice earlier in the week but is expected to play.

The expectations may be a bit higher for the Giants on offense, as this is the first game where Jason Garrett will have all of his major weapons to work with. But not everyone on the field may be ready to go 100%.

Kenny Golladay may have to play with reduced snaps, which doesn’t look good for his numbers that are already considered low this season. The strong possibility that Golladay is limited combined with the fact that Kadarius Toney appears to be outside of the team’s immediate plans raises some questions about who will receive the bulk of the attention in the pass game.

But one thing is certain – the Giants will have more options in this department than they did in either opening game of the season.

How should the New York Giants use Kadarius Toney moving forward?

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When the New York Giants drafted Kadarius Toney with the 20th overall pick, they added a versatile weapon on offense who could be used in many different creative ways. With gadget utilities and raw athleticism, Toney was one of the best receivers regarding missed tackles forced during his final year with Florida in 2020. He lead receivers in college last season with a 30% missed tackle rate, showcasing his strengths as he adapts to the NFL and finds his way into the Giants’ scheme.

However, the team has seldom used Toney, featuring him in just 24 offensive snaps through two weeks against Denver and Washington. He has only touched the football twice, both on design plays that failed to produce any positive gains.

The media quickly began to spin stories and rumors regarding his usage and the frustration that was boiling. Toney took to social media to express his emotions, later taking a shot at the media for starting a negative narrative.

However, the Giants are underutilizing Toney, who clearly could help on offense. Every team‘s first-round pick should have an instant impact unless you are developing a quarterback to take over for a veteran, in which case represents a different scenario. When drafting impact weapons on offense and skill position players, they need to be featured early and often to help them adjust to the physicality and speed of the game at the next level.

How the New York Giants can get Toney involved moving forward:

Toney is far more than just a gadget player, with solid route running and unique abilities in the open field. Some ways the Giants can get Toney more involved include using him as a punt returner and featuring him in bunch formations alongside Sterling Shepard in the interior. With Kenny Golladay also taking snaps from the slot, Toney could be pushed outside and supplement reps from Darius Slayton, who had a costly drop against Washington in Week 2, which ended up being the difference in the game.

Having dropped just four passes over four seasons with Florida, there’s no question he is a reliable target that can contribute toward a more efficient unit. Given the Giants scored just seven meaningful points in Week 1, they bounced back with a far more extensive and aggressive strategy against Washington, scoring 29 points. The Giants scored more than 29 points just once in 2020, so they’ve already gotten off to a decent start in context with Jason Garrett’s vanilla scheme.

There are two reasons the Giants might be holding back from unleashing Kadarius:

First, he could be dealing with an injury and recovering from Covid, so they want to take a more cautious approach with his health. Alternatively, the Giants are still developing their scheme and adding new elements every week, so perfecting the base concepts and expanding that route tree could be more prevalent in the short term. With Toney’s unique skill set, they might be waiting to add his qualities at the right time when the offense has momentum, and they’ve begun stringing together consistent performances with their more established players.

New York Giants: Kadarius Toney lashes out at media on Instagram

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So far, this season isn’t going as fans would have hoped for New York Giants draft pick Kadarius Toney.

While it looked like the Giants were getting a good value after trading down to take the player, they’ve had more problems than production from Toney so far and that has led to some of the receiver’s frustrations going public. This comes after the second game of the season, when the Giants not only blew the game but also failed to make use of their first round rookie.

After two games gone by, Toney has negative receiving yards and had no targets or receptions at all in his second appearance. He was only on the field for 8% of the Giants’ offensive snaps in his first game and 28% of their snaps in the second game.

It’s understandable that he’s frustrated with his usage by the coaching staff so far, but from the looks of things, Toney isn’t the best at choosing how to express those feelings.

Specifically, Toney took to Instagram where he responded to the criticism of himself by calling the media clowns.

Is Kadarius Toney heading towards problems?

While not everyone is a fan of the media, most can agree that coming out and openly attacking them on social media isn’t a wise move for a player in a major market like New York. Toney is already a controversial figure among the fans for the turbulent start to his career, and picking up a reputation early on as a diva wide receiver wouldn’t help his case in that regard.

Furthermore, this seems like something that can only end badly for a player coached by Joe Judge, who preaches discipline. Golden Tate, after all, landed himself out the lineup for one game last season in part because of his Instagram activity.

With Toney being outspoken so far about both the team’s usage of him and the media and fan narratives about him, it may be realistic to expect more controversy this season. At least, if the Giants don’t quickly figure out how to use Toney’s skillset and quell the concerns that they drafted a player in the first round just to sit him for most of the game.

Giants News: Kenny Golladay yells at Jason Garrett, Kadarius Toney’s frustrations are boiling over

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The New York Giants lost a nailbiter against the Washington Football Team on Thursday evening, with interior defender Dexter Lawrence jumping offside on a field goal attempt, they gave kicker Dustin Hopkins one more opportunity to win the game. Unfortunately for the Giants, Hopkins didn’t miss on his second attempt, sending Big Blue crashing down to an 0-2 record this season and the fan base into a frenzy.

With the negativity beginning to mount and head coach Joe Judge running out of answers, the interior of the team has begun to raise frustration, as star receiver Kenny Golladay was seen yelling at coordinator Jason Garrett toward the end of the contest.

Kenny Golladay screams at Jason Garrett as the team avoids him in the most important moments:

Golladay finished with three receptions for 38 yards in the loss, playing in 39 total passing snaps. Golladay was used rarely, as quarterback Daniel Jones targeted Sterling Shepard more frequently over the big money possession option.

Golladay has every right to be frustrated about his lack of usage, especially toward the latter portion of the game when the Giants needed to march down the field and score. At 6’4″ and 213 pounds, the Giants took only one deep shot to their big exterior receiver, which simply isn’t enough.

However, Kenny wasn’t the only receiver to expressed frustration after the defeat, as first-round pick Kadarius Toney took to social media to show his disappointment.

Kadarius Toney’s frustration is boiling over to social media:

Toney featured in just 19 total snaps against Washington, an increase of 14 compared to Week 1 against Denver. Toney failed to make an impact in the receiving game, not being targeted once by Jones. After the game, Tony posted on social media a meme, stating, “I don’t be mad, s—t just be lame to me.”

Some might compare the Giants’ lack of utility for Toney, like buying a sports car and failing to drive it. It is yet to be seen if coordinator Jason Garrett even has plays in his arsenal that are capable of maximizing Kadarius’s skill set.

Hopefully, they can get him more involved moving forward and not just utilize him as an end-around and jet sweep option. He is far more than just a gadget player, and if the Giants don’t get him involved quickly, Toney has a high probability of lashing out once again, and with Golliday already having a screaming match with Garrett on the sidelines, they need to get some of these players involved quickly.

Giants’ QB Daniel Jones details how he’s improved and plans to take the big Year 3 leap

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New York Giants, Daniel Jones

When it comes to New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, a lot is riding on his third season in the NFL. Preparing to take on the Denver Broncos in Week 1 on Sunday afternoon, Jones has a tall task ahead of him with a strong secondary and pass rush on the other side of the football.

However, coming off a season where he threw just 11 touchdowns, Jones is looking to take a big step forward and is confident the offense will enable him this upcoming season.

Steve Serby of the New York Post spoke with QB Daniel Jones, who displayed confidence regarding a potential big Year 3 jump:

A leap or however you define it, my focus is more on playing well and helping this team win games, so I feel like I’m prepared, and I feel like the experience last year and the year before, there’s been a number of things I’ve been able to learn and feel like I’ve improved on through last year and this offseason, this training camp and going into this year. I’m excited, I think as a team, as an offense, we’ve had a good camp and we’re looking forward to getting out there.

Jones needs a few positive influences for him to reach his potential, and the first obviously starts with the OL. With question marks at nearly every spot, Jones is relying on solid protection to open up the vertical passing game and reduce his fumble numbers.

The development of the offensive scheme should also pay dividends if Jason Garrett can include more pre-snap motion and downfield targets. The additions of Kadarius Toney, Kenny Golladay, and the return of Saquon Barkley should infuse multiple new elements into a unit that had an undrafted free agent rookie starting by the midway point in the season (Austin Mack).

Jones has never had a WR1 at his disposal, let alone Barkley healthy for the majority of a regular season. The addition of Toney will bring a lot of motion before the snap and quick-twitch abilities in the open field, giving the offense more firepower.

Overall, management has given Jones all the weapons he needs on offense to be successful, but if he doesn’t have time in the pocket, it will all be for naught. Despite that major problem, Jones stated the team is “extremely hungry and ready to get this season going.”

New York Giants: Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney to play on Sunday

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Despite earlier injury scares, the New York Giants won’t have to go into their season opener without their new additions at wide receiver. Both Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney have been on the injury report during the past week leading up to the game, and missed the preseason finale, but have finally been removed from that list with days left before the opener.

The Giants have a number of injury situations that will come down to late decisions from the coaching staff. While Golladay and Toney are confirmed as ready to play, the same isn’t true for Saquon Barkley and Adoree’ Jackson. Both players are listed as questionable, but it looks like Barkley has the better odds of playing as Joe Judge has already confirmed that it would take a setback for Barkley to not play on Sunday.

Evan Engram, on the other hand, is ruled out entirely with a calf injury. We’ll likely see more of Kyle Rudolph because of that, as the new veteran addition is returning to health just in time for week 1.

It remains to be seen how some players will perform coming back from injury, or what the exact role will be for the newcomers to the offense, but the the current outcome is far from the worst one possible for the Giants.

Even if both Engram and Jackson miss the season opener, having the new weapons such as Toney, Golliday, and Rudolph on the field consistently is a big step in justifying the high price the Giants spent this offseason to acquire them.

New York Giants: Kadarius Toney could be a special teams playmaker

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The New York Giants kick off their season at 4:25 pm on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. The wait for the regular season is finally over as the 2021 NFL season kicks off Thursday night in Tampa Bay. The Giants are hoping to get off to a strong start after having a fantastic offseason that saw them drastically improve their roster. One of the team’s most exciting acquisitions was first-round wide receiver, Kadarius Toney.

It was a wild summer for Kadarius Toney unlike any other. The rookie barely practiced with the team and did not participate in the preseason. Toney had a fight with COVID-19 and a mysterious injury that held him out of practice for a while. Despite this, Kadarius is expected to play on Sunday.

The Giants are excited to see their rookie wide receiver line up with the rest of their offense. However, the area of the game where Toney might make the biggest instant impact is on special teams.

Kadarius Toney as the punt returner

The New York Giants would like to ramp Kadarius Toney up to game speed. This is a difficult task, though, as the rookie missed all of the preseason, losing his opportunity to learn the game’s speed. One way for the Giants to get Toney involved early is through special teams.

Initially, Kadarius might struggle while going up against NFL cornerbacks. The competition is bigger, stronger, and faster in the pros than in college, and one criticism of Toney’s game coming out of school was his inability to beat bigger opponents. But as the Giants try to get the ball in Toney’s hands and give him a chance to create an explosive play, placing him as the team’s punt returner is a fantastic way to get the rookie involved.

On the Giants’ unofficial depth chart, Jabrill Peppers is listed as the starting punt returner. Adoree’ Jackson is second string and Kadarius Toney is third string. Jackson, though, has been dealing with an injury for the last few weeks. Peppers is also a valuable player that typically plays over 90% of snaps for the defense. This could give Kadarius Toney an avenue onto the field.

On 177 touches in his collegiate career at UF, Kadarius Toney forced an insane 64 missed tackles (PFF). Toney was the best tackle-breaking wide receiver in this year’s NFL draft. Toney forced a missed tackle on 35% of touches since 2018, which was first among the 2021 wide receiver draft class (PFF). Anytime he has the ball in his hands, Kadarius Toney is a threat to take it to the end zone. As a punt returner in college, Toney has done just that.

Kadarius Toney returned 13 punts in his collegiate career. In his 2020 senior season, Toney returned 11 punts for 139 yards and 1 touchdown.

Few are more explosive with the ball in their hands than Kadarius Toney. New York would be wise to put Toney’s electric playmaking ability to use on special teams as a punt returner in Week One.