Football
Isaiah Likely: New NFL Places / Old Consistent Faces
Ron Rigney has a look at what players have changed his new team and what that means for his fantasy football consistency!.
“Once again this off-season, Ron Rigney will take a look at a player who has changed teams and see what their new digs mean for their consistency.”
3/23/2026 Edition*
Isaiah Likely – TE – New York Giants – 3 Years, $40 Million
What I like about it:
The flashes have been there. Likely was labeled as a “good backup with the potential to become a starter” at the NFL Draft Combine in 2022, and the scouts seemed to nail it. He’s a great athlete at the tight end position, drawing comparisons to Delanie Walker, who had some solid seasons as a fantasy tight end.
He will no longer be in the shadow of that Mark Andrews guy, who, it turns out, is pretty darn good. The Ravens extended him last season, so it was clear that for Likely to flourish, he’d need to go elsewhere. John Harbaugh brought him into New York, and he should beat out Theo Johnson for the TE1 role. Johnson saw 74 targets in his breakout 2025 season, and I look for Likely to claim more than that.
To put it nicely, the tight end position is weak. If you don’t spend up for a top guy, it’s a mix-and-match scenario for most of the season. Likely getting an opportunity to be a TE1 immediately puts him in the Top-12 tight end conversation. Theo Johnson is not Mark Andrews.
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What makes me go hmmm:
As much as I believe Likely is the better player between him and Theo Johnson, it’s hard to ignore Johnson’s 2025 season(45 catches, 528 yards, five touchdowns). He proved to be a strong option as the season rolled along, especially after Dart took over at QB. It’s still a possibility he shares targets with Johnson, but I still feel that Likely takes over as the 1.
The Giants let Wan’Dale Robinson walk, so there will be targets to be had. They still have plenty of time to add depth at WR, and depending on the name, it could eat into some vacated targets that, as of right now, would go to Likely. There are still quite a few solid options out there at WR.
Overall Take:
Likely has proven to be a red-zone threat and is one of the better athletes at the position in the league. In 2025, he recorded just two clutch games out of 13 games played. In the two previous seasons, Likely recorded 11 touchdowns and was an immediate fantasy pivot if Mark Andrews was hurt. Let’s also not forget that 2025 was a hugely inconsistent season for Lamar Jackson(46% clutch rating), which impacted the entire Baltimore passing game. I love Isaiah Likely heading into the season, and I feel his ADP will stay extremely affordable.
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L Consistent Faces
