Wan'Dale Robinson is good fit for Giants with Brian Daboll calling plays

The rebuild is on for the New York Football Giants. New general manager Joe Schoen has moved across the state after working for the Buffalo Bills. The former scout decided to bring play-caller Brian Daboll with him, and he’s just given his new head coach a highly-productive slot weapon.

With the No. 43 pick in the second round, the Giants selected Wan’Dale Robinson on Saturday to give the new front office and coaching staff its first skill talent draft pick. The Kentucky product will be playing for an offensive mind with a solid track record.

After helping Alabama win a national championship in 2017, Daboll moved back to the NFL and served as the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. Under his watch, Josh Allen turned into one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL thanks to a versatile scheme that leaned into his best player’s strengths. Under Daboll, the Bills were not afraid to dial up the QB run game, install RPOs, and move the pocket so Allen could take advantage of his athletic traits.

The former Bill Belichick assistant is now running his own show, and Daboll gets to see if he can help get former Duke quarterback Daniel Jones get back on the right track. The NFC East franchise passed on the fifth-year option for Jones meaning this is a sink or swim year for the young player with off-platform playmaking skills somewhat similar to Allen. After solidifying the offensive tackle spot with Evan Neal in the top-10, the Giants have given Jones a valuable weapon.

Wan’Dale Robinson was an efficient weapon for the Kentucky offense in a volume-heavy role. The Nebraska transfer received 146 targets in his first season playing wide receiver full-time. Robinson easily paced the new look Kentucky offense under Liam Coen. With a 71.2 percent catch rate, 54.1 percent success rate, and 19.9 percent explosive rate, Robinson proved that the former top-100 recruit is a high-level wideout that provides efficiency with playmaking skills in the short-to-intermediate areas.

Now Daboll will get a chance to use that skill set with a quarterback that needs to play with some more confidence.

Last season with the Bills, slot-heavy receiver Cole Beasley was second on the team in targets (112), receptions (82), and receiving yards (693) with an efficient 73.2 percent catch rate. Buffalo force fed No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs and stretched the field with Gabriel Davis and Emmanuel Sanders but used Beasley to keep the offense ahead of the chains.

A similar role could be coming for Wan’Dale Robinson in New York.

When you look at the depth chart, Sterling Shepard is the top slot option but the seventh-year pro could be entering his last year with the franchise as he approaches age 30. Meanwhile, the book is still out on Kadarius Toney after a solid rookie season. The Florida product is a gadget threat that also has outside versatility to potentially grow into a Z receiver.

There is a logjam, but a new regime is coming in. Due to the lack of a true alpha outside receiver, expect the Giants to utilize a plethora of condensed formations and pre-snap motions to get their small, shifty wideouts some free releases off the line of scrimmage. Robinson would fit into that scheme after Coen used a similar plan at Kentucky last year.

The first skill talent selection for Schoen is the Kentucky wide receiver, and Daboll had success in Buffalo with multiple different wideouts once the franchise landed a true No. 1. The Giants don’t have that and still must find a long-term answer at quarterback, but Robinson will become a part of the new young core the franchise is establishing in New York.

The Frankfort (Ky.) Western Hills product should get many chances to make an impact for a creative play-caller that will lean into the strengths of his offense.