Every NFL season, teams have young players who take a significant leap towards becoming stars.
Last season, the league saw second-year quarterbacks Drake Maye and Caleb Williams have major breakout seasons. Maye led the Patriots to the Super Bowl and finished second in MVP voting, while Williams guided the Bears to their first division title in eight years.
The New York Giants enter the 2026 season with one of the youngest and most intriguing rosters in the NFL. ESPN recently ranked Big Blue as the ninth-best team for its under-25 talent.
Several of their young players are in position to take significant steps forward this season. Here are three Giants who have the opportunity to become breakout stars in 2026.
Isaiah Likely has spent his entire career waiting for the opportunity to become a full-time starter.
After four seasons behind Mark Andrews in Baltimore , he'll finally get that chance in New York . After losing 1,000-yard receiver Wan'Dale Robinson to the Titans in free agency, the Giants signed the former Raven to a three-year, $40 million contract to reunite him with his old coach, John Harbaugh .
Likely never eclipsed 500 yards in his four seasons with Baltimore, but that is because he was playing behind Andrews. In New York, he'll have the opportunity to be a focal point of the passing game.
The Giants have a promising tight end in Theo Johnson . But Likely is more than a traditional in-line option. Likely has run over 50 percent of his snaps as a slot receiver through his first four seasons. That gives coordinator Matt Nagy flexibility to create favorable matchups.
Johnson should remain a vital part of the offense. Likely's versatility should allow the Giants to feature both in two-tight-end sets. With his 6-foot-4, 245-pound frame, Likely will be a matchup nightmare for opposing slot cornerbacks and smaller linebackers.
Star wide receiver Malik Nabers was not placed on the PUP list to start training camp, but there is still no guarantee he is ready for Week 1. If he does miss time, Likely would be one of, if not the top option in the Giants' passing game. Even when Nabers is healthy, he could be the number two option and stay heavily involved in the offense.
At 26 years old, Likely enters the 2026 season with the largest expected role of his career. If he takes advantage of his opportunities, he has the tools to become one of the NFL's breakout tight ends.
Alexander had a quiet start to his rookie season. Over time, however, he showed flashes of the player the Giants envisioned as a third-round pick.
Over the final six games of the season, he recorded three sacks and three tackles for loss. With the Giants trading away Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence , Alexander is in position to take on a much larger role in 2026.
New York did bring in veteran defensive tackles DJ Reader and Shelby Harris, who excel at stopping the run. Alexander's biggest strengths are as an interior pass rusher.
Still, defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson has emphasized the importance of Alexander becoming an all-around defensive tackle, saying the key to his development is "being gritty and grimy." Wilson also said he wants Alexander to be "a run-stopper first before a pass rusher."
Big Blue's defense was one of the worst in the league against the run last season. They allowed the second-most rushing yards per game and the most yards per rush attempt, and that was with Dexter Lawrence. With Lawrence now gone, Alexander has a chance to step into a starting role and help fix the run defense problems while staying strong as a pass rusher.
If Alexander can build on his strong finish to 2025 while improving against the run, he has a legitimate opportunity to establish himself as a key piece of the Giants' defensive line in 2026.
Drafted with the third overall pick in 2025, Abdul Carter had a lot of hype coming into the league.
Carter's rookie season didn't exactly live up to the enormous expectations surrounding him. Through his first 12 games, he only recorded half a sack and one tackle for loss.
Carter also dealt with disciplinary issues during his rookie season, being benched for the first series against the Green Bay Packers for missing a team walk-through meeting. Just a few weeks later against the Patriots , he was benched for the entire first quarter after missing a special teams meeting.
Through the final stretch of the season, he put the drama behind him and started to show some promise. Over the final five games, Carter had 3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss, showing strong ability to get after the quarterback and stop the run. The strong finish gave some optimism that he could take a significant leap in his sophomore season.
Despite the low sack numbers as a rookie, Carter ranked well in terms of pressures, leading the league with 48 quick pressures. Carter is expected to start on a talented front-seven that includes Brian Burns , Kayvon Thibodeaux , and rookie Arvell Reese , which can create more one-on-one opportunities for him to rush the passer.
With a new defensive scheme and a lot of talent around him, Abdul Carter has the opportunity to turn his late-season momentum into a breakout sophomore campaign. If his pressure production translates into more sacks, double-digit sacks are well within reach.
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