Wan'Dale Robinson
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An unlikely New York Giants WR is the team's "top candidate" for a role at the 2028 Olympics.
The NFL’s decision to allow its player to participate in flag football at the Olympics has sparked a ton of speculation about who would represent the U.S., with an unlikely wide receiver for the New York Giants named the team’s top candidate to take part in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
It’s not Malik Nabers, last season’s record-breaking rookie sensation. Instead, Giants.com Senior Managing Editor Dan Salomone sought advice about a viable alternative, Nabers’ fellow wideout Wan’Dale Robinson.
Salomone “enlisted Tara Belinsky, the Giants’ community and youth football manager. No one would know better than the Community Relations department because they are out there helping grow the game that is now part of the Olympics.”
Belinsky’s first thought was Robinson because “the 5-foot-8, 185-pounder has the shiftiness required to excel at the sport. Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who has made a living avoiding would-be tacklers as a returner, would also be a strong option.”
A reference to Smith-Marsett makes sense based on the return man’s breakaway speed, but Robinson would be a more intriguing representative. The flag football format could unleash the open-field skills Robinson hasn’t shown often enough since joining the Giants as a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Wan’Dale Robinson’s Core Skills Still Not Showing Up Enough for Giants
Robinson is supposed to be swift and slippery in space, but his numbers after the catch are less than inspiring. The 24-year-old averaged a mere 3.9 yards after catch per reception last season, per Pro Football Reference. He hasn’t been able to escape hits, breaking just 15 tackles in three seasons.
The Giants drafted Robinson to quickly get open underneath and weave through traffic to turn short passes into longer gains. It’s happening all too seldom, but the occasional glimpses of what Robinson can do with the ball in his hands help the Giants believe he still has a future.
This catch and run against the Dallas Cowboys from Week 4, highlighted by Empire Sports Media’s Alex Wilson, was a great example of Robinson’s upside.
The play would have been something special in flag football, but Robinson’s more illustrious teammate would surely dominate the Olympics.
Giants Have Better Option for Olympics
Unlike Salomone, Giants.com’s Matt Citak believes Nabers going to the Olympics “is a no-brainer. Nabers is not only the most electric player on the Giants, but he’s one of the most electric players in all of football. His speed, quickness, and elusiveness, all qualities that make him tough to bring down, would translate well to flag football. We saw a bit of his flag football potential during last year’s Pro Bowl Games, where he caught two touchdown passes to help the NFC defeat the AFC.”
Nabers showed off his multi-layered skills in space to highlight what should be the first of many Pro Bowl berths. His first touchdown catch in the all-star game was a picture-book flag football score.
The only problem here is this after-catch brilliance was something of a rarity for Nabers late in his rookie campaign. His ability to evade tacklers and extend plays appeared to desert the former LSU playmaker after a concussion cost him a pair of games early in his rookie campaign.
This decline in YAC production was charted by Dan Duggan of The Athletic, who pointed out Nabers was “averaging 1.6 YAC in the five games since returning. He was averaging 4.5 YAC in the first four games of the season.”
One of the more head-scratching developments of the season is that Malik Nabers isn't generating any YAC since returning from the concussion. He's averaging 1.6 YAC in the five games since returning. He was averaging 4.5 YAC in the first four games of the season.
He caught this… pic.twitter.com/MFzbmEYcTL
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) November 26, 2024
Fortunately, Nabers averaged five or more yards after catch during his final three regular season games. He’s back on form as a big play capable of happening at any time, even if many of those highlights are happening three years from now.