While Cam Akers stole the headlines as the wacky fantasy football playoff explosion -- rightfully so -- Isaiah Hodgins came out of nowhere to finish as the seventh-best wideout in half-PPR with an 8/89/1 line. While it was Hodgins’ first day with this target volume, he has been crushing down the stretch with at least an 80% snap share in each of the last four Giants games and a touchdown in three of them.
The Giants don’t tend to throw as much as they did in Week 16. The Vikings are a pass funnel of sorts, which explains the volume. Daniel Jones attempted 42 passes against the Vikings and had not even gotten above 35 since Week 11. He’s averaging about 30 attempts a game. In other words, don’t expect this next week, but the share of targets that Hodgins have created are still valuable.
Where did Isaiah Hodgins come from?
A 2020 sixth-round pick out of Oregon State, Hodgins was a Bills selection under Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. They claimed him off waivers in early November. The Giants, if you have somehow been able to block them out, have made no qualms about the fact that they absolutely hated their wideout room from the second Daboll and Schoen took over. They used a second-round pick on Wan’Dale Robinson, but he’s not around after tearing his ACL in late November. They traded away Kadarius Toney for a third-round pick after barely playing him. They spent a ton of the offseason shopping Darius Slayton even though he’s wound up being their most reliable target down the stretch. The less we have to expound on Kenny Golladay, the better. They loved Sterling Shepard, but Shepard took on yet another serious injury when tearing his ACL in Week 3.
A 6-foot-4, 209-pound frame clearly cast Hodgins as an outside receiver with blocking ability, and that has helped him stay on the field as often as he has for the Giants.
The combination of injuries and a seeming disinterest in playing Golladay has left the Giants with a fairly stable corps of Hodgins, Slayton, and Richie James in the slot. Hodgins has actually out-targeted Slayton over the last month, 27-24. James has 29. It’s been a fairly well-balanced offensive game plan.
Hodgins body plays the role you’d expect in his game
Watching the Minnesota game, Hodgins has a three-play sequence in the first quarter where he runs three in-breaking routes, takes shots, and delivers three catches:
Isaiah Hodgins three balls in a row Week 16 pic.twitter.com/SbpQMbz7ft
— rivers mccown (alt) (@mccownclips) December 27, 2022
Hard to put it any more succinctly than this: Hodgins knows he’s going to get decked on a couple of these and just holds on to the ball. This isn’t sexy wideout play and it’s not going to generate touchdowns. But it puts him on the field because he can be trusted in big situations, and it helps with his PPR floor.
Two of his three touchdowns over the last four weeks have come from a skill I think goes overlooked sometimes -- his ability to create when a play breaks down. Daniel Jones is harassed in the red zone, but manages to buy enough time to wind up alone outside of the pocket. Hodgins doesn’t quit on his route and intuitively carries further when Jones breaks the pocket. It leads to a nice, easy touchdown.
Isaiah Hodgins TD reception Week 16 pic.twitter.com/HMJPaYOFmx
— rivers mccown (alt) (@mccownclips) December 27, 2022
He did essentially the same thing against the Eagles in Week 14 to create a touchdown. His Week 13 touchdown was another short-yardage ball where he beat a small defender and made fun of said defender after the play. You can understand why he’s an enticing target for Jones in the red zone because of his size. The Giants have already targeted him four times in the red zone in just seven games. Daniel Bellinger leads the team with six. And when you consider that Hodgins is new to the team via waivers, I think it speaks loudly about where we’re at that he is getting these targets. He’s almost got a tight end body.
Finally, look at this slick move that the Giants pulled on the Vikings towards the end of the second quarter with Hodgins:
Isaiah Hodgins deep ball Week 16 pic.twitter.com/5SjRyjoXaU
— rivers mccown (alt) (@mccownclips) December 27, 2022
He’s not all toughness -- he sold the out-and-up extremely well here and delivered a nice catch on a ball he had to go get.
Can you fire him up in Week 17?
As a FLEX? Absolutely. The touchdown upside and target numbers are trending in a direction where I’d be okay with it. I don’t think he’s a fantasy WR3 or anything, but he’s got some upside.
What I’m most curious about with Hodgins is where the Giants are on him long-term as far as dynasty goes. They have sent out several clear signals about their lack of interest in Slayton, who will be a free agent after the season. I think they want Wan’Dale to be their slot option, but I have no clue how locked in we should feel about that with a late November ACL tear. Robinson could deliver on that promise still, but it is far from certain. James is also a free agent.
Hodgins will only be an exclusive-rights free agent, and while I’m sure the Giants will get rid of Kenny Golladay and chase something in free agency or the draft at wideout, I think there’s a possibility the Giants wind up with Hodgins in a top role to start next season. Rookies don’t always deliver right away. Injuries have left this depth chart in a bad place.
There’s a non-zero chance that Hodgins winds up in a Gabe Davis type of role in 2023. And while I know that sounds disappointing to you if you had Davis all season, Davis was still a fairly valuable fantasy player. Between the depth chart and the play, Hodgins is certainly making a case to be that involved in New York’s offense in 2023.
