Daniel Bellinger was held without a catch for the first game-and-a-half of his Giants career, but through the next 3 ½, he has 10 grabs for 101 yards and a touchdown – fourth on the team in both catches and yards – as well as a technical two-yard touchdown run.
A rapid ascent for the fourth-round pick, who was behind free agent pickups Ricky Seals-Jones and Jordan Akins coming into camp but has established himself firmly as TE1 for Big Blue.
“I think he's come a long way. He'll be the first to tell you, he's still got to keep on improving. But I'd say he's a tough-minded individual,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “Usually, tight end is a difficult position to go from college to the NFL, and we ask him to do quite a bit, but I've been very happy with how he's approached things.”
Daboll has been involved with the tight ends all along, and credits Assistant GM Brandon Brown and Director of Player Personnel Tim McDonnell for scouting Bellinger – who, even at San Diego State, wasn’t an offensive force, with 68 catches over four years.
“(Brown and McDonnell) were huge proponents of him during the draft process, and as we got to know him, what he stood for, some of the intangibles that we look for, he's done a good job,” Daboll said. “We've asked him to do a variety of things, and we’ve got a long way to go, but he just gets a little bit better each day. And give Brandon and Tim some credit, too. They really stood on a table for him when they did their evaluations.”
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And, as his quarterback says, Bellinger has found a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
“I think he's got good feel, good instincts, and he's got a knack for making the right play, being in the right spot,” Jones said. “He has that feel and knack for finding space, catching the ball, getting up field and making plays. He's been consistent in that for us. I think he's done a great job.”
Even on that play where he scored on Sunday, where, on a double reverse, he could’ve thrown the ball to Jones to try to complete a version of the Philly Special, but instead saw a hole and rumbled into the end zone.
“Even that play where he scored, I think it was good instincts, a good football play by him,” Jones said. “He's been big for us.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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