Giants Country

Giants Receiver Kadarius Toney Hasn’t Lost Faith in Himself

Second-year receiver Kadarius Toney believes he will eventually be the receiver the Giants thought they were getting when they drafted him No. 20 last year.

Patricia Traina

Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports
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Dealing with injuries that have kept him sidelined for all but 12 of his first 23 NFL games isn’t exactly how New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney envisioned his pro career unfolding.

Yet that is the reality that the 23-year-old wideout has faced so far. After an injury-shortened rookie season in which he caught 39 receptions for 420 yards, Toney has again struggled with staying healthy.  

This year, he's been dealing with a hamstring strain that has gone as far back as the summer and limited his explosiveness.  

As challenging as it’s been for Toney to get on the field to contribute, he claims he hasn’t lost confidence that he will one day soon live up to his first-round draft pedigree and the expectations that come with it.

“I mean, why would I doubt myself?” Toney told reporters Thursday. “I know what I can do and what I can’t do. Everybody lets one downfall or one mishap determine the outcome of how they feel. 

"I’m here to do one job. I’m here to play and be the best I can be.”

Toney is well aware of the external chatter by fans, analysts, and critics alike that some of which have labeled him as a bust. But he claimed that he doesn’t care about that chatter, even though, at times, he seems to be responding to it on his social media accounts.

“I don’t care,” he said about the criticism of him or his social media postings. “I’ve been going against the odds all my life. Why would it be different now?”

What needs to be different now is that Toney finds a way to stay on the field.

“When you go hard, stuff happens,” he said when asked why his hamstring issues keep popping up.

Toney did admit that he might have rushed back from his initial hamstring injury.

“If you ask anybody — the best doctor or whatever — hamstrings are very tricky. So if you feel like your hamstring is better, it might not be. You never know. It’s just all about how you feel.”

The good news is that Toney said he’s back to sprinting and cutting., though he declined to put a timetable on his return.

But when he does come back, Toney predicts better days ahead.

“I feel like I’m going to be who I originally was.”

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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