The Giants will not go into training camp with any unsigned rookies. They became the latest team to round out their draft class deals Monday, signing both second-round wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and fourth-round safety Dane Belton.
Chosen in what became a gray area, thanks to the guarantees in the No. 37 overall pick Jalen Pitre and No. 44 choice John Metchie‘s Texans contracts earlier this offseason, Robinson represents the latest early-second-round pick to sign. Eleven second-rounders remain unsigned. This year’s No. 43 overall choice will vie for playing time in a crowded Giants wideout situation.
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Although Big Blue’s receiver setup is currently jampacked, Robinson profiles as the safest bet to stay with the team into the mid-2020s. The Giants roster Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney and Darius Slayton. But Robinson is the only member of this intriguing wideout quintet to be brought in by the Joe Schoen–Brian Daboll regime. Slayton has become a trade candidate, while Shepard restructured his deal to stay for a seventh season. The longest-tenured Giant is now set to be a 2023 free agent. Golladay underwhelmed after signing a four-year, $72MM deal in 2021, and unavailability has been Toney’s defining NFL trait thus far.
Robinson zoomed onto the second-round radar after a 104-catch, 1,334-yard, seven-touchdown 2021 season at Kentucky. The 5-foot-8 slot player had been a Wildcats contributor during his underclassman years, but 2021 brought a breakthrough. Even without the Giants’ offseason injury issues at receiver and Slayton’s potential preseason departure, Robinson should be expected to have a steady role as a rookie. Both he and Belton are now signed through 2025.
The Giants are less situated at safety, giving Belton an interesting opportunity. The team cut Logan Ryan and allowed Jabrill Peppers to sign with the Patriots this offseason, leaving some uncertainty opposite Xavier McKinney. Julian Love is tentatively expected to start alongside the former second-round pick, but Belton — a first-team All-Big Ten player last season — will have a say in that plan during camp. As a junior at Iowa, Belton intercepted five passes in 2021. That tally tied for the second-most in the conference last season.
Here is how the Giants’ draft class looks ahead of camp:
Round 1: No. 5 Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE (Oregon) (signed)
Round 1: No. 7 (from Bears) Evan Neal, OT (Alabama) (signed)
Round 2: No. 43 (from Falcons) Wan’Dale Robinson, WR (Kentucky) (signed)
Round 3: No. 67 Joshua Ezeudu, G (North Carolina) (signed)
Round 3: No. 81 (from Dolphins) Cor’Dale Flott, CB (LSU) (signed)
Round 4: No. 112 (from Bears) Daniel Bellinger, TE (San Diego State) (signed)
Round 4: No. 114 (from Falcons) Dane Belton, S (Iowa) (signed)
Round 5: No. 146 (from Jets) Micah McFadden, LB (Indiana) (signed)
Round 5: No. 147 D.J. Davidson, DT (Arizona State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 173 (from Chiefs through Ravens) Marcus McKethan, OG (North Carolina) (signed)
Round 6: No. 182 Darrian Beavers, LB (Cincinnati) (signed)