Florida WR Kadarius Toney became the Giants first pick of the 2021 draft after usually conservative Dave Gettleman traded out of the number 11 spot, securing the Giants the Bears first rounder in 2022 as well as a fourth and fifth rounder.
For his part, Kadarius Toney joins a much retooled Giants offense with a chance to grow into his role in the NFL without the pressure often afforded to first round picks. Operating almost exclusively out of the slot in college, Toney will offer a dynamic underneath option as Kenny Golladay stretches the outside of the field.
KADARIUS TONEY IS A RELIABLE PLAYMAKER
Despite being the fourth receiver off the board, Kadarius Toney actually measures up pretty well to the top-three in the draft class statistically. On a much less loaded offense, with a much less successful team, he had the best drop% of the four, and the second highest catch%.
| Receiver | Drop% | TD% | Catch% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kadarius Toney | 2.4% | 10.0% | 80.0% |
| Ja’Marr Chase | 7.8% | 21.5% | 68.2% |
| Jaylen Waddle | 6.3% | 16.0% | 80.3% |
| DeVonta Smith | 3.7% | 19.6% | 76.5% |
His style will suit Daniel Jones who’s ADOT in 2020 was 8.0 yards, ranking him 20th out of 29 qualifying QB’s per PFF. With Golladay expected to stretch the field, and give Jones a valuable deep option, and a player who will occupy one of the safeties, Toney will get to perform his magic across the middle.
In 2020 fully 63.1% of Toney’s targets came with 10 yards of the LOS with 23.8% being behind the LOS. With only 10.7% of his targets over 20+ yards he is an ideal foil for Golladay and the two should begin ripping defenses apart from early in the season.
And one more reason why Kadarius Toney should excited Big Blue fans plying his trade over the middle in the NFL: He was fifth in college football for missed tackles forced in 2020 with 20.
His general lack of experience will be a minor concern for the coaching staff with him receiving just 150 targets across his four years. But his skillset, coupled with the other players the Giants have added this off-season should have Giants fans finally in an optimistic mood.
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