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Editor's note: This is Part 8 of 26 in Art Stapleton's New York Giants summer series Q&A
The New York Giants have a Super Bowl winner and possible Hall of Famer at head coach in John Harbaugh, with whom the entire team can strive for a championship standard the franchise has failed to meet for far too long now.
The standing ovation for Harbaugh from the assembled Giants fans inside Beacon Theatre back in May for the team's Town Hall event was only just the beginning.
And Harbaugh, their head coach set to usher in yet another new era for the franchise in its 102nd year, certainly knew how to play to his audience moments later.
With chants of "Cowboys suck" ringing out around him, Harbaugh was asked by a fan if he could promise the Giants were done being kicked around by their NFC rivals and most hated foes: the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
That's when Harbaugh with 193 career victories rallied a fan base with a pledge that felt an awful lot like a battle cry he will repeatedly deliver between now and the start of the season.
"I could [not] care less about what's happened last year or the year before that or 10 years before that," Harbaugh said. "All I care about is tomorrow's practice, because if tomorrow's practice is the way it's supposed to be, that will be one more step in the direction of being a good enough football team to kick the Cowboys' ass."
26 QUESTIONS: See our growing list of Giants questions for 2026 season
For now, there are far more questions than answers. But we hope to set the table for the summer and beyond with 26 questions that will define the 2026 Giants season.
Well, of course it is. There are no official rankings of position rooms in the NFL, so when Harbaugh declared two months ago that the Giants had the league's best tight end group, it was a great example of a coach pumping up his own players.
But let's keep it real here: Harbaugh would not have said it just to get a cheap pop from the crowd assembled inside Beacon Theatre for the Giants' Town Hall event. There is reason to believe the offense will be geared toward getting the most out of players whose skill sets appear to fit together well.
Likely's presence changes how the Giants will play schematically. He could see a lot of time in the slot with Johnson in the traditional tight end role. The 6-foot-4, 241-pound Likely had a down season in 2025, catching only 27 passes for 307 yards and a touchdown.
Those aren't numbers that would typically generate a huge contract in free agency (3 years, $40 million), but it's clear Harbaugh wanted the player in this offense. Two years ago, prior to the foot injury that dogged him last season, Likely caught 42 passes for 477 yards and six touchdowns.
The off-script plays that Dart is so good at outside the pocket and on the move fit Likely’s game, too. He thrived with Lamar Jackson in that aspect of the passing attack. What Harbaugh has done with the offensive coaching staff with the Giants: it’s as if he paid attention to the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the coaches he hired and fit them together to balance each other out. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy's strength is in innovative design of the offense, drawing from the Andy Reid playbook.
The Chiefs used tight ends in a variety of ways, and with Likely having experience in pairing with Mark Andrews in Baltimore, being able to complement Johnson who is entering a potential significant third season is key.
The Giants are counting on playing more heavy sets with both on the field, and Manhertz is an old-school in-line blocker. Fidone showed flashes in the preseason, but a foot injury and a deep group ahead of him turned his rookie season into a redshirt year. He also missed time this spring, so his progress will be worth watching in camp.
Conner made plays this spring, so it'll be interesting to see if he can emerge this summer and push for a spot on the practice squad.
Maybe Harbaugh's cheating a bit when he is lauding his tight ends - All-Pro fullback Patrick Ricard is technically part of this group. So when you include his production and presence as part of the run game, the praise might just be warranted, especially if Likely and Johnson can hit the ground running and provide Dart with weapons that can create mismatches all over the field.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Are NY Giants tight ends as good as John Harbaugh says?
Continue reading...
The New York Giants have a Super Bowl winner and possible Hall of Famer at head coach in John Harbaugh, with whom the entire team can strive for a championship standard the franchise has failed to meet for far too long now.
The standing ovation for Harbaugh from the assembled Giants fans inside Beacon Theatre back in May for the team's Town Hall event was only just the beginning.
And Harbaugh, their head coach set to usher in yet another new era for the franchise in its 102nd year, certainly knew how to play to his audience moments later.
With chants of "Cowboys suck" ringing out around him, Harbaugh was asked by a fan if he could promise the Giants were done being kicked around by their NFC rivals and most hated foes: the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
That's when Harbaugh with 193 career victories rallied a fan base with a pledge that felt an awful lot like a battle cry he will repeatedly deliver between now and the start of the season.
"I could [not] care less about what's happened last year or the year before that or 10 years before that," Harbaugh said. "All I care about is tomorrow's practice, because if tomorrow's practice is the way it's supposed to be, that will be one more step in the direction of being a good enough football team to kick the Cowboys' ass."
26 QUESTIONS: See our growing list of Giants questions for 2026 season
For now, there are far more questions than answers. But we hope to set the table for the summer and beyond with 26 questions that will define the 2026 Giants season.
Question #8: Is John Harbaugh's praise for Giants TE room hyperbole?
Well, of course it is. There are no official rankings of position rooms in the NFL, so when Harbaugh declared two months ago that the Giants had the league's best tight end group, it was a great example of a coach pumping up his own players.
But let's keep it real here: Harbaugh would not have said it just to get a cheap pop from the crowd assembled inside Beacon Theatre for the Giants' Town Hall event. There is reason to believe the offense will be geared toward getting the most out of players whose skill sets appear to fit together well.
- Who's here (projected starters in bold): Isaiah Likely, Theo Johnson, Chris Manhertz, Thomas Fidone, Tanner Conner
Likely's presence changes how the Giants will play schematically. He could see a lot of time in the slot with Johnson in the traditional tight end role. The 6-foot-4, 241-pound Likely had a down season in 2025, catching only 27 passes for 307 yards and a touchdown.
Those aren't numbers that would typically generate a huge contract in free agency (3 years, $40 million), but it's clear Harbaugh wanted the player in this offense. Two years ago, prior to the foot injury that dogged him last season, Likely caught 42 passes for 477 yards and six touchdowns.
The off-script plays that Dart is so good at outside the pocket and on the move fit Likely’s game, too. He thrived with Lamar Jackson in that aspect of the passing attack. What Harbaugh has done with the offensive coaching staff with the Giants: it’s as if he paid attention to the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the coaches he hired and fit them together to balance each other out. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy's strength is in innovative design of the offense, drawing from the Andy Reid playbook.
The Chiefs used tight ends in a variety of ways, and with Likely having experience in pairing with Mark Andrews in Baltimore, being able to complement Johnson who is entering a potential significant third season is key.
The Giants are counting on playing more heavy sets with both on the field, and Manhertz is an old-school in-line blocker. Fidone showed flashes in the preseason, but a foot injury and a deep group ahead of him turned his rookie season into a redshirt year. He also missed time this spring, so his progress will be worth watching in camp.
Conner made plays this spring, so it'll be interesting to see if he can emerge this summer and push for a spot on the practice squad.
'Pancake Pat' the X-factor of the group
Maybe Harbaugh's cheating a bit when he is lauding his tight ends - All-Pro fullback Patrick Ricard is technically part of this group. So when you include his production and presence as part of the run game, the praise might just be warranted, especially if Likely and Johnson can hit the ground running and provide Dart with weapons that can create mismatches all over the field.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Are NY Giants tight ends as good as John Harbaugh says?
Continue reading...
