John Harbaugh Bets on Isaiah Likely’s Breakout with New York Giants

When John Harbaugh traded the purple of the Baltimore Ravens for the Big Blue of the New York Giants, he didn’t just bring 18 seasons of head-coaching experience to East Rutherford. He brought a specific, high-conviction belief in a player the box scores had largely overlooked: tight end Isaiah Likely.

Harbaugh is not merely hoping for a productive season from Likely. he is certain of it. Speaking at the NFL’s annual meetings in Phoenix, the new Giants head coach made it clear that Likely’s historical lack of massive statistics in Baltimore was a product of the environment, not a lack of talent. The bet is that in New York, the ceiling is much higher.

For the duration of his tenure with the Ravens, Likely never surpassed 500 receiving yards in a single season. To a casual observer, those numbers suggest a rotational piece. To Harbaugh, who coached Likely for the last four years, they suggest a player who was simply squeezed out by the supporting cast—most notably the presence of All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews.

“I’m certain he’s going to be able to put up the numbers, the stats,” Harbaugh said. “That wasn’t the thing in Baltimore because of the supporting cast.”

The Practice Tape vs. The Box Score

In the world of professional scouting, there is often a divide between what a player does on Sunday and what they do on Tuesday through Saturday. Harbaugh is leaning heavily on the latter. He argues that the daily reality of practice provided a far more accurate blueprint of Likely’s potential than the official NFL stat sheets.

Harbaugh’s confidence stems from seeing Likely’s route running and playmaking ability every single day. He believes that by creating a vision for what a player is capable of—rather than focusing on what they haven’t yet achieved—you discover the true value of an athlete.

“I’ve seen him every day in practice. I’ve seen him make plays. I know how he plays the game,” Harbaugh noted. “Not so much concerned about what they don’t do, what they haven’t done, what they can’t do. What can they do?”

The Giants have signaled their agreement with this assessment by signing Likely to a three-year, $40 million contract, a significant investment in a player who has yet to have a statistical breakout year.

A Safety Net for Jaxson Dart

Beyond the raw yardage, Harbaugh views Likely as a critical tactical asset for young quarterback Jaxson Dart. For a young signal-caller, having a reliable, physical target in the line of vision is often the difference between a contested throw and a completion.

Harbaugh described Likely as a “playmaking football player” with a catch radius that should provide Dart with a consistent outlet. The versatility is where Likely becomes a Swiss Army knife for the New York offense: he can make players miss in open space, run over defenders to gain yards after the catch, and serve as a “incredibly good perimeter blocker” to bolster the Giants’ run game.

This combination of receiving threat and blocking efficiency makes Likely a dual-threat asset that can shift the geometry of the field depending on the personnel package.

The ‘One-Two Punch’ with Theo Johnson

While Likely is expected to take on a larger role than he had in Baltimore, he won’t be the only tight end in the spotlight. The Giants are planning to integrate him alongside Theo Johnson, envisioning a potent “one-two punch” at the position.

Rather than a strict hierarchy where one player suppresses the other—as was the case with the Andrews-Likely dynamic in Baltimore—Harbaugh expects to utilize both players simultaneously. Fans should expect a significant increase in two-tight-end sets, allowing the Giants to flex their offense between heavy blocking looks and spread-out receiving attacks.

For the global NFL audience, this shift represents a broader trend of “12 personnel” (one running back, two tight ends) becoming more aggressive in the modern game, using tight ends as primary receivers rather than just extra blockers.

As the Giants prepare for the upcoming season, the success of this experiment rests on whether the “practice tape” translates to Sunday production. If Harbaugh is correct, New York hasn’t just signed a tight end; they’ve acquired a breakout star who was simply waiting for the right opportunity and the right system.

The next major checkpoint for the Giants will be the start of official team activities and training camp, where the chemistry between Jaxson Dart and Isaiah Likely will be put to the test in live repetitions.

Do you feel Isaiah Likely will finally break the 500-yard barrier in New York, or was his role in Baltimore the true indicator of his ceiling? Let us know in the comments.