The New York Giants thought they’d their tight finish state of affairs straightened out this season once they chosen Penn State’s Theo Johnson within the fourth spherical of the NFL draft.
The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Johnson possessed related measurement and expertise to that of Darren Waller, who retired through the offseason.
For some time, it labored. Johnson grew to become the Giants’ prime receiving tight finish catching 29 of 43 targets for 331 yards and a landing in 11 begins this season earlier than breaking a bone in his foot within the Giants’ Thanksgiving Day loss in Dallas.
The Giants’ depth chart places Daniel Bellinger again right into a receiving function whereas Chris Manhertz stays the first blocking tight finish.
There’s a brand new piece to the equation, nonetheless.
Final week, the Giants claimed Greg Dulcich off waivers from Denver. He’s a proficient participant who fell by way of the cracks with teaching adjustments and accidents as a 2022 third-round decide for the Broncos.
Giants assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, Mike Kafka, commented on the state of the high-end room now that Johnson is out for the remainder of the 12 months.
“Simply subsequent man up,” stated Kafka. “And Bellinger’s been right here. He is aware of the system nicely. He’ll step into that function. Clearly, Coach (Tim) Kelly does an ideal job getting all these guys in. We’ve received new guys with Dulcich within the room now and getting him sort of caught up somewhat bit. So, issues are progressing very well. We like the place that room’s at.”
Dulcich seems to be like a 6-foot-3 ringer for actor James Franco who arguably has the perfect head of hair of any Giants participant since Pete Athas.
Former #Broncos TE Greg Dulcich was claimed off waivers by the #Giants, per supply. A contemporary begin. pic.twitter.com/PavNW2oEek
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 26, 2024
The previous UCLA standout might simply turn into a main goal for Giants quarterbacks because the season unwinds.
“Nicely, we’ll begin taking a look at him right here and see what he can do,” head Coach Brian Daboll stated this week. “He’s a quick man. He’s had some manufacturing and injured some, so we’ll get a take a look at him.”
They could do greater than that. The Giants aren’t throwing deep this season. That’s a narrative for an additional day, however the brief passing recreation might embrace Dulcich, and before many suppose.
It is smart for the Giants to present Dulcich a shot right here. He’s nonetheless on his rookie contract and, nicely, they want him. This could possibly be a type of small, under-the-radar strikes that yields an enormous end result.
