Giants' search for stud pass catcher to elevate offense kicks off in Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. — Princeton wide receiver Andrei Iosivas stood out this week against Power-5 school competition at the Senior Bowl, stopping on dimes, twisting in the air and catching almost everything.

“I think it went well,” the 6-2, 212-pound Iosivas, who doubles as a decathlete and Ivy League track star, said Tuesday. “I was focused, I showed up. I was physical. I was fast. I caught the ball well.”

Giants GM Joe Schoen agreed. He’s actually had Iosivas on his radar since the team’s late-season courtship of Odell Beckham Jr. when OBJ’s agent, Zeke Sandhu, pulled up “a little YouTube clip” as they were “having lunch in the cafeteria.”

“I’ve known about him since early December,” Schoen said Wednesday. “He [Sandhu] brought him up. And I thought he showed really well yesterday. He’s a big, good-looking kid. And he caught the ball well.”

The Giants need a dude, a stud, a No. 1 wide receiver. Especially if they’re going to sign Daniel Jones to a long-term contract extension, this offseason’s top order of business otherwise must be to find Jones a go-to guy in the passing game.

That’s why Schoen walked down behind the end zone of Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama’s campus Tuesday to watch the receivers up close and make notes as Iosivas and the other prospects showed their stuff.

Finding a transcendent talent like Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, or Davante Adams is rare. The Giants’ franchise has been mostly starved for a dominant and elite receiver, outside of Plaxico Burress’ 2005 free agent signing and Beckham’s 2014 draft selection by former GM Jerry Reese.

This year, no one in the NFL seems to be salivating over any pass catchers as clear stars in this year’s draft. The free agent class isn’t sexy, either.

Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins, a terrific player, seemingly is available via trade. But he’s 30 years old, he’s played in only 19 of 34 regular season games the past two years, and the Giants would have to surrender assets to obtain him.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t quality in the draft, though. And multiple scouts said if the Giants need a receiver, they don’t need to take a wide receiver. What about a tight end?

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