Getty Giants wide receiver Kenny Golladay.
Kenny Golladay arrives in East Rutherford with quite the burden placed upon his broad shoulders. Despite coming off an injury-riddled 2020 campaign where the former Lions wideout hauled in just 20 receptions and two touchdowns, the New York Giants compensated him lavishly this offseason.
Big Blue inked the 27-year-old to a monster $72 million contract in free agency. The deal placed him in a three-way tie with Chiefs star Tyreek Hill and — fittingly enough — former Giant Odell Beckham Jr. as the NFL’s sixth-highest paid wide receiver based on average yearly salary ($18 million). Of course, with that type of financial commitment comes an abundant amount of pressure.
The key cog in a revamped receiving corps, Golladay is tasked with helping lead the Giants’ passing offense out of the dwellers of mediocrity, as well as supplying Daniel Jones with the first true No. 1 receiver of his career. The good news, Golladay appears more than up for the challenge.
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Golladay Eager to Prove Himself to Giants Fans
Golladay, who took the field this week for mandatory minicamp, admitted to reporters he views his move to New York as an opportunity to prove his worth to an entirely new fan base and organization.
“100 percent,” Golladay proclaimed. “This is just a new chapter in my life right now. I definitely feel like I have to go out there and prove to other people including myself, it’s different for me. I got drafted to Detroit. Played all four years there. This is a whole different environment right now. So I’m just ready to accept the challenge and just ready to go to work.”
As it pertains to the extra pressure of his lucrative contract and the burden of being lauded as the team’s No. 1 guy in the passing game, Golladay says he isn’t feeling it.
“To be honest, it really doesn’t [add extra pressure],” he said. “I’m confident in my game. I’m confident in my work ethic and I know Coach Judge is going to be on me. I hope JG (Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett) will be on me as well. I’m the type of person I never want to be content and I don’t ever want to let myself get like that and I’m going to work and make sure that I leave everything out there.”
Jones Talks Golladay
When Golladay takes the field in Week 1, he’ll be just the second receiver Jones has ever connected with during his pro career that has previously posted a 1,000-yard receiving campaign — Golden Tate being the other. However, that’s not to say Golladay and Jones haven’t hooked up on a few passes on their own time.
“Me and Danny hooked up a few times outside of the facility,” Golladay said. “I didn’t really come into it with any expectations to be honest but as of right now, that’s my boy. I can’t wait to just really work with him deeper in training camp and especially when the season starts.”
So far so good for the promising quarterback-wide receiver duo, as Jones is loving what he’s seen from his new No. 1 target.
“He’s been fun to work with,” Jones claimed. “Obviously, his talent and skill level, you can tell as soon as you can get on the field with him he’s a good player, smart player and I’m excited to keep working with him.”
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