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Isaiah Likely 2026 Fantasy Football Outlook: Carries Justified Buzz with Starting Role
New York Giants tight end Isaiah Likely steps into a featured role after John Harbaugh saw what he was capable of in Baltimore, but can we get consistent production here? He was limited by injuries in 2025, both to himself and Lamar Jackson, which led to just 27 catches for 307 yards and one touchdown. Likely required surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot, which shelved him through August and forced him to miss the first three games of the season. But alongside the overall offensive depression, he was far behind Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews, and Zay Flowers. Though the Giants' offense will be different than '25, if Likely goes from last year's 53% route participation rate toward Theo Johnson's 73% mark, we could be very happy. Mix in that Malik Nabers (knee) is no sure bet to recover, and the 6-foot-4 Likely could find himself with a prominent role with lots of red-zone attention. Though it's been nearly two years since he dominated the Chiefs for 111 yards and a TD (nearly two, those pesky toes) in Week 1 of 2024, the 26-year-old has a ceiling that most TEs don't possess. As a result of the talent, the Harbaugh connection, and the path to more involvement, his RotoBaller rank as the half-PPR TE12 is close to his TE11 ADP (pick 107) in late June.
