The New York Giants are going through several transitions on both sides of the ball, but none more evident than at the wide receiver position.
The team started out with a mix of veterans and young players at wide receivers and as the season has gone on, it’s apparent they want to go with the youngsters.
That means playing rookie Jalin Hyatt and second-year wideout Wan’Dale Robinson more and players such as Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell and Sterling Shepard less.
In last Sunday’s 24-6 loss to the Saints in New Orleans, Darius Slayton led the way by playing on 95 percent of the snaps followed by Robinson (85 percent) and Hyatt (71 percent).
Hodgins played on just 29 percent of the offensive snaps followed by Shepard (5 percent) and Gunner Olszewski (2 percent). Campbell didn’t even make the game day cut as he was a healthy scratch for the second straight week.
“Hyatt and Wan’Dale are playing more,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the distribution of playing time at wideout.
Asked how the veterans were dealing with the reduced workload, Daboll didn’t add much depth to his decision.
“They’re pros,” he said. “I mean, they’re competitive, I’m sure they’d like to play, but we’re playing Wan’Dale and Hyatt.”
The Giants are more invested in Hyatt and Robinson than the others. They are players that current general manager Joe Schoen scouted and drafted as opposed to the others.
They used a second-round pick on Robinson last year and a third- and fourth-round pick in a trade this year to select Hyatt. That is why they are out on the field.
The Giants inked Slayton to a two-year, $12 million deal last March, so he was always going to fit prominently in their plans. Shepard and Campbell are playing this season on one-year deals.
Hodgins is due to become an exclusive rights free agent come next offseason.
