In his press briefing following Day 2 of the NFL Draft, Giants head coach Brian Daboll said he looks for various qualities in tight ends overall, a vague statement he clarified a little bit after Day 3.
“We’ve got six, just trying to figure out exactly what they do. I've had years where I had Marty Bennett and Gronkowski and other years with Charles Clay, who is a completely different type of guy,” Daboll said. “It's a completely different game than it was even 22 years ago when I started, and I think you have to evolve as a coach, too, both how you evaluate players and how you design scheme. I would say we have a variety of guys right now on the roster, some bigger-type receivers. Some a little bit more blockers. Running around with shorts on, it's good to see their movement skills and how they can track a ball. But once we get to training camp OTAs when they have to do things a little more quickly, we'll figure that out. But I would say we have a mix of guys that can get down in a three-point stance and block some defensive ends, and that's getting harder to find each year.”
The reason Daboll clarified that is the Giants added that sixth tight end on Day 3 of the Draft, selecting San Diego State’s Daniel Bellinger at No. 112 overall in the fourth round.
“I was just super excited. My heart was pounding when I got the call. It was a great process with them,” Bellinger said after being selected. “I enjoyed every single second talking to the coaches and the assistant GM. It was a great process with them.”
The selection may have been a bit of a surprise, but Bellinger did have a pre-Pro Day dinner in San Diego with assistant GM Brandon Brown, so he was clearly on the radar before the Giants came up with the seventh pick of the fourth round.
“A guy that we liked; size, speed, athleticism, should be able to help us on special teams,” GM Joe Schoen said. “He was in the Senior Bowl, was at his pro day, too, and a guy we've liked throughout the process.”
With Ricky Seals-Jones and Jordin Akins atop the depth chart, the Giants have two pass-catchers on short-term deals. Bellinger, though, believes he can come in and be a hybrid, be that third tight end who is a beast in pass-blocking situations while also making plays under the radar.
“Blocking and being versatile in both the passing game and blocking game, because I think I can do a good job blocking and I can stretch the field and make plays when I need to,” he said of his game. “I'm just excited to get in and just play football and really just help the team any way I need to.”
He hasn’t had any initial conversations about his role in New York, but he does feel he has more to show as a pass-catcher, which wasn’t really on the menu too much in his time in college, with only 68 grabs on his resume over four years.
“I just know that whatever they need me to do, I'm going to come in and compete and just be the best tight end that I need to be,” Bellinger said. “(I felt underutilized) a little bit, but our goal at San Diego State was to win games, and whether that was me getting a hundred receptions or me getting no receptions, whatever it took for us to win was our main goal. It really came down to game plan and schemes that we needed to do for that week.
And if I didn't get enough balls, that's all right as long as we got the win.”
When he was called upon, Bellinger didn’t drop a single pass last season, so any targets above and beyond his 31 catches weren’t drops – and that’s something he takes pride in.
“Tremendous pride. I've been playing the game since I was six years old, just playing catch with my dad and never dropping the ball, because he would get mad at me even as a little kid dropping the ball,” Bellinger laughed. “So I take a lot of pride in making sure I don't drop the ball too much.”
And if the G-Men need him to line up in the backfield in front of Saquon Barkley, or detached in the slot? Bellinger says let’s go.
“If I had to pick, I would say attached (to the line), but I really feel comfortable doing both,” he said of his preferred line of scrimmage alignment. “I think it's fun to be detached and be one-on-one with a linebacker, but it's also a lot of fun being attached and going to go against a D-end. I just love football, so whether I'm in the backfield, attached, detached, whatever it means to go hit the guy across from me.”
Strong words from a guy whose idols are some of the most versatile, and successful, tight ends in the NFL right now.
“The guy I watched a lot, especially the last few years, is definitely George Kittle. He's a guy that is a great run blocker and a pass catcher,” Bellinger said. “I try to implement my technique and things after him and guys like Dallas Goedert and Travis Kelce in the passing game a little bit.
Dallas Goedert in the run game and George Kittle in the run game as well.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
