5 NY Giants breakout candidates for 2026

**DL Darius Alexander**

It will take a village for the Giants to replace Dexter Lawrence, and they have built a large one with several free-agent and draft additions. Alexander, though, could be one of the village’s most important pieces. A third-round pick a year ago, the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Alexander flashed potential as a pass rusher, but his stoutness against the run left a lot to be desired. With the volume of players the Giants have collected, Alexander’s run defense is going to have to get significantly better if he is going to earn regular snaps. Even though this will be just his second NFL season, Alexander will be 26 in August. This could be a breakout season for him if he holds up against the run, or he could end up buried on the bench.

**TE Isaiah Likely**

Likely averaged 33.75 receptions in four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, and had a career-low 27 catches in 14 games last season. That is clearly not the kind of production the Giants are expecting from Likely in 2026 and beyond after they handed him a three-year, $40 million contract ($26 million guaranteed) in free agency. They are clearly expecting him to be an upgrade over Theo Johnson, and to make up for a big chunk of the production Wan’Dale Robinson took with him to the Tennessee Titans. Here is what Harbaugh said about Likely at the NFL owners meetings: *“That’s what I’ve seen. I’ve seen him every day in practice. I’ve seen him make plays. I know how he plays the game,” Harbaugh said this past week at the NFL’s annual meetings. “So, you try to kind of create a vision for a player; what do you think they’re capable of doing? One thing that we always try to do is see what players can do. Not so much concerned about what they don’t do, what they haven’t done, what they can’t do. What can they do?* *“When you see a player do it every day, you got a pretty good idea what he’s capable of. So, I’m certain he’s going to be able to put up the numbers you’re talking about, the stats. That wasn’t part of the thing in Baltimore because of the supporting cast, so to speak.”* Likely seems ticketed to spend a lot of time as a big slot receiver and to have every opportunity to prove Harbaugh right.

**QB Jaxson Dart**

It might seem kind of strange to consider the Giants’ second-year quarterback a “breakout” candidate. NFL Media’s Matt Okada, though, put Dart on a **recent list of 2026 breakout candidates**. He wrote: *Dart ran the gamut of less-than-ideal circumstances in his rookie season. He sat behind Russell Wilson until Week 4, never played a full game with WR1 Malik Nabers, was in the concussion protocol on multiple occasions and had a substandard interior offensive line. Despite all that, he became just the seventh Round 1 rookie in the common draft era to log a passer rating of 90-plus and a TD-to-INT ratio of 2:1 or better. Two of the other six players to accomplish that feat — Dan Marino and Justin Herbert — topped 5,000 passing yards in Year 2, and Marino won the NFL MVP. Heading into 2026, Dart has gained the assistance of HC John Harbaugh and OC Matt Nagy, as well as TE Isaiah Likely and four new offensive linemen, including 10th overall pick Francis Mauigoa (plus, the returning Nabers). Dart has the tools to break out and could even lead the Giants from worst to first this season, which might make him a sneaky contender for the MVP award.* Okada’s argument makes sense. The situation around Dart should be improved, even though Nabers’ readiness to start the season has to be in question after **news of a second knee surgery**. Dart will be the starter from Day 1. John Harbaugh is the head coach, and he has surrounded Dart with an accomplished group of coaches. The Giants are deeper at wide receiver, provided Nabers is healthy and productive for all or most of the season. Running back Cam Skattebo is on track to begin the season healthy. The offensive line looks deeper. Dart was good as a rookie, providing optimism to a franchise that needed it. He should be better in Year 2.