Wan'Dale Robinson may be small, but he could be huge help to Giants offense
Wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson may be 5-8 and 185 pounds, but he's shown a tremendous amount of versatility at Giants training camp. Credit: Brad Penner
Daniel Jones threw a swing pass to Saquon Barkley late in Wednesday’s training camp and the running back ducked into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown escorted by a bevy of blockers.
It wasn’t a road-grader like Evan Neal or Andrew Thomas who led the way for the score but tiny rookie wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson who cleared the hole for Barkley.
“Really just trying to do whatever I can to help our team win, and if that’s in the blocking game then that’ll be me too,” Robinson said after the practice. “Whatever they need from me, I got it.”
Add it to the ever-expanding list of such things. Robinson has been the MVP — Most Versatile Player — of this camp so far, lining up outside, in the slot, in the backfield, and even at quarterback. Each day it seems the Giants expand his call sheet by putting him in another spot where he can create havoc for the defense.
“Dabes likes to play with it a little bit,” Robinson said of coach Brian Daboll’s offensive creativity. “This is the type of offense that you'd want to be in as a receiver.”
Listed at 5-8 and 185 pounds, Robinson joked that it can be easy for defenses to lose track of him because of his lack of size.
“It’s been like this my whole life since I started playing at five years old,” he said. “I’ve always been one of the smaller ones and had to overcome that. I’m not going to treat it any different now. At the end of the day, it's still football and my job is to go out there and make plays and get open.”
And, on occasion, throw some blocks.
Notes & quotes: C Jon Feliciano worked for a second straight day after missing five practices because of trouble with the heat early in camp … Backup running back Matt Breida flashed the reason for his nickname — Cheetah — with a 70-or-so-yard touchdown catch and run down the left sideline … DL Jalyn Holmes played with the first unit and dominated a series of running plays in 9-on-7 drills. The interior of the defensive line with Holmes, Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence and others has been a standout group for the Giants all camp . . . Veteran swing tackle Matt Gono left the team and was placed on the exempt list. A Giants source said the team is “still trying to get clarity" on Gono's future. His absence leaves the Giants exceedingly thin at tackle.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
