You’ve heard the common refrain “not bad for a running back,” but New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney won’t even give Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson that much credit.
On June 5, Bleacher Report tweeted a video of Jackson launching a football 50 yards from one knee. The caption read: “Lamar Jackson is UNREAL 😳”
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The tweet got over 800 retweets and 11,000 likes, but apparently Toney was not impressed. Toney quote-tweeted the video and downplayed Jackson’s throw.
“🤣🤣 I throw it further than this all the time 🥴” Toney wrote on Twitter.
Bobby Skinner of the “Talkin’ Giants” podcast then helped Toney make his case by sharing a video of Toney throwing a pass while in college at Florida. The play is from a 2017 game against Kentucky, when Toney was only a freshman, and it shows him throwing a perfect pass for a 50-yard gain.
60 yards on the run
“60 yards on the run,” Skinner wrote on Twitter.
Toney then took his argument one step further by quote-tweeting Skinner’s video with a video of his own. In the video, a teenage Toney launches a football. Toney’s tweet claims he sent it more than 80 yards. It’s hard to tell how far the ball actually goes in the video, but the reactions from the other kids watching him throw do seem to hint the ball traveled unbelievably far.
Jackson is a two-time Pro Bowler and was the MVP of the league in 2019, but he has never completed a pass that traveled 80-plus yards in the air. In fact, no passer has in recent years. According to NextGen Stats (via NFL on CBS), the deepest completion in the NFL since 2016 was a 66.4-yard Hail Mary thrown by Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield to wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones in 2021.
Should the Giants Let Kadarius Cook?
As the Seattle Seahawks decided to “Let Russ Cook” before trading veteran quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, should the Giants explore more ways to use Toney’s arm?
In college, Toney attempted six passes and completed three of them for 82 yards and a touchdown. As a rookie last season, he completed just one of his three pass attempts for 19 yards. Here’s a video of that completion to fellow wide receiver Sterling Shepard, courtesy of the NFL’s official Twitter account.
Kadarius Toney can sling it too. @0fficialC2N #TogetherBlue
📺: #NYGvsKC on ESPN
📱: https://t.co/Ws0sbkS0nd
Toney threw a deeper pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although it fell incomplete, it did seem to catch the defense off-guard and resulted in a pass interference penalty. Alex Wilson of Empire Sports Media shared the video.
Kadarius Toney can sling it too. @0fficialC2N #TogetherBlue
📺: #NYGvsKC on ESPN
📱: https://t.co/Ws0sbkS0nd
Toney started as a dual-threat quarterback for his high school team, so maybe the Giants can tap deeper into that arm strength under first-year head coach Brian Daboll.
Not Bad…for a Wide Receiver
Overall, Toney’s arm is not bad for a wide receiver. It’s a nice wrinkle to have, but ultimately he should be focused on producing as a pass-catcher this season.
Toney only had 420 receiving yards as a rookie and did not find the end zone once. Once he starts producing like a first-round draft pick, then the Giants can start to open up the playbook and look to use him in creative ways. Until then, Toney should worry more about catching footballs than throwing them.
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Giants WR Kadarius Toney Claims to Have Stronger Arm Than Pro Bowl QB