Giants Insider: Wan'Dale Robinson's pursuit of 1,000 receiving yards is no small feat
The Giants' Wan'Dale Robinson reacts in a game against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Sept. 14, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. Credit: Getty Images/Ron Jenkins
Wan’Dale Robinson grew up admiring smaller players such as Tavon Austin and Percy Harvin who could do it all as running backs, receivers or kick returners. Now the 5-8 Robinson is on the verge of doing something they never did.
Entering Sunday’s game against the Vikings, he is 118 yards shy of his first 1,000-yard season. With three games left, it’s a target well within reach, barring injury.
“I think it’d mean a lot. Not a lot of guys that are my size, my stature, that go for 1,000 yards in this league,” Robinson told Newsday. “I feel like as a receiver, it’s a big milestone to hit. Just for the year that I finally felt like I was being used in the way that I wanted to be, to hit that mark.”
It would put Robinson in an exclusive club. Since 2000, no receiver listed at 5-8 has recorded a 1,000-yard season, according to Pro-Football Reference. Only five listed at 5-9 had at least one: Zay Flowers, Marquise Brown, Steve Smith, Wes Welker and Lance Moore.
Smith, the gold standard for small receivers, had eight 1,000-yard seasons and is eighth in NFL history with 14,731 receiving yards. Robinson’s future may not have that ceiling, but he’s been critical to the Giants’ offense this season.
If he gets to 1,000 yards, it’ll be the first time the Giants have had consecutive seasons with 1,000-yard receivers since Odell Beckham Jr. did it from 2014-16.
With Malik Nabers sidelined with an ACL injury, Robinson has stepped up to be Jaxson Dart’s most reliable target.
“Whenever your number one goes down, you’re just like, somebody has to step up and fill that role,” Robinson said. “They thrust me into it and just let me go out there and expand the route tree that I hadn’t had before. All the hard work is paying off.”
Reaching 1,000 yards also would add to his value as an upcoming free agent and help him get a hefty raise. Robinson said last month that he’s not thinking about it because his focus remains on the present. Can he repeat that success alongside Nabers? Or should the Giants look to reload with a younger receiver in the draft if Robinson’s asking price is too high?
The Giants will have to decide whether to keep him or pursue other options. It will be one of their key decisions to watch this offseason.
Robinson said getting 1,000 yards wasn’t a direct goal but rather something that most receivers dream about. But as he got closer and built great chemistry with Dart, he started to realize it was a possibility.
“It was just like, why not keep going?” Robinson said. “Keep trying to do what I do. At the end of the day, the more yards I have, the more I’m helping our team win, too.”
Robinson had 1,334 yards in his lone season at Kentucky in 2021. The Wildcats were 10-3 that year.
The Giants have lost at least 11 games in each of the past three seasons, but that doesn't diminish Robinson’s impact. He’s close to doing something no receiver his size has done this century.
“It just goes to show that I can do a lot of things on the football field,” he said. "I don’t have to just be used as a gadget. I can get down the field and make plays and just show all the teams that I can do everything that I can do.”
Need a kicker? Better call Sauls
The latest sign of the Giants’ roster woes? They’ll be on their fourth kicker Sunday when rookie Ben Sauls makes his NFL debut.
The Giants cut Younghoe Koo this past week after he missed two field-goal attempts against the Commanders, both from more than 50 yards. Now Sauls will get his shot after the Giants signed him to their practice squad last month.
“You go through the rookie process and you’re in and out of some buildings, [so] to see an opportunity is really a big deal,” said Sauls, who previously was on the Steelers' and Falcons' practice squads. “So I intend to make the most of it, but I’m excited.”
It's a chance for Sauls to make a name but also another indictment of the Giants’ poor roster management. Sauls is the eighth kicker they have used since the start of the 2023 season. In that span, they’re the only team to have used at least three kickers each season on field goals or extra points.
It’s the cost of putting faith in kicker Graham Gano, who’s battled multiple injuries in that span and currently is on injured reserve. Add that to the fact that the Giants have played at least three quarterbacks in each of the last three seasons and it’s two glaring signs of instability under general manager Joe Schoen.
Still, Sauls is ready for the challenge and the Giants hope he can deliver.
“I get an opportunity,'' he said, "and that’s all anybody wants at the end of the day.”
Burns leads in latest Pro Bowl fan voting
Brian Burns remains in line to be one of the few Giants who’ll make the Pro Bowl Games this year.
Burns was the leader in votes for outside linebacker when the latest rounds of fan balloting were released Monday morning. Voting closed later that day. Burns hasn’t made the Pro Bowl since 2022
The defensive standout hasn’t had a sack in three straight games, his longest streak of the season. His total of 13 sacks still leads the NFC and is second behind the Browns’ Myles Garrett (21.5)
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
