NY Giants Tight End Larry Donnell Takes the NFL by Storm

Think back to just before the start of the New York Giants' 2014 season.

How many of you thought that tight end Larry Donnell would not only be the first Giants player to score in that Week 1 game, but he'd also be the team's leading receiver in both receptions (25), yards (236) and touchdowns scored (four) through the first four games? 

Come on. Be honest.

The fact is that Donnell, now in his second season, is starting to make a believer out of many doubters who fretted about the state of the Giants' tight end position.  

So who is this young man who, until recently, was only the topic of conversation when it pertained to how to pronounce his last name (it’s Don-NELL, by the way)?

According to his official team bio, the 25-year-old Donnell, 6’6” and 265 pounds, joined the Giants as an undrafted rookie out of Grambling State, where he converted from quarterback to tight end midway through his freshman season in 2007.

A former high school basketball player, Donnell spent the 2012 season on the Giants' practice squad.

In January 2013, he signed a reserve/futures contract that expires after this year, according to Over the Cap.

Last year, he appeared in all 16 regular-season games, starting one game and logging three receptions for 31 yards in that season.

Donnell's slow start last year was largely due to a broken foot he suffered in early 2013, an injury that forced him to miss the entire spring slate of workouts.

That occurrence, he believes, set him so deep into a hole that he never managed to get caught up.

“That was tough, not being able to do anything other than sit there and watch,” he told me. “I can’t really learn sitting there and watching and not doing it.”

That brings us to the present. Donnell completed his first full offseason and training camp and is now showing the coaches as well as the fans that he is every bit of a quality tight end as the organization hoped to have when it signed him.  

Let’s look at some of the qualities that Donnell has brought to the table so far.  

Chris Howell/Associated Press

Size

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

When you think about a "Giant" both in stature and in heart, Donnell really is worthy of the moniker.  

His long wingspan allows him to pluck balls at their highest point. His long arms and solid upper-body strength also give him an advantage when it comes to blocking, as he has shown instances where he can swallow up a defender (though he does, at times, struggle with his pad level, which causes him to lose his leverage).  

Currently the second-highest-graded player on the Giants offense (per Pro Football Focus, subscription required) with an 8.7 overall grade (left tackle Will Beatty is the highest-graded member of the Giants offense with a 10.1 overall grade), Donnell's stock is probably the fastest-rising of any Giants player, considering how inconsistent he was in the spring and summer.   

While his run and pass blocking are both still rough around the edges—per PFF, he's graded out with a 1.0 as a run-blocker and a 0.8 as a pass-blocker, which while both decent grades, could be much better—it is his prowess in the receiving game, where PFF grades him as a 6.1 overall, that has helped him make a name for himself so far.

Let's look at a play from the game against Washington in which Donnell put his size to good use.

On his first touchdown reception, he had no trouble outjumping linebacker Perry Riley Jr., who was covering him in the end zone on the play.

Donnell, lined up in the slot, went up the seam and quickly turned his body to get into position for the reception, leaping into the air before Riley could react.

What's more, Donnell did a nice job of quickly and smoothly turning his body to shield the ball from the defender, coming down with the pigskin for the first score of the game and the first of his three touchdown catches that night.

Athleticism

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Being a former basketball player, Donnell seems to know a thing or two about how to juke his opponents.

He showed this several times in the game, most notably on a 14-yard gain late in the first quarter.

Working from the backfield on this play, Donnell runs his route untouched as the Giants run a play-action fake.

He then puts a slight move against the defender that causes the defensive back to begin to shift his weight (note the arrow pointing to the back foot), thinking Donnell was going to break to the outside.

Donnell then shifts his momentum and cuts inside, using that slight split second in which the defender must now re-adjust to cut inside in order to keep up with the tight end.

It's too late, however, as Donnell comes down with the reception as the defender trails. 

Overcoming the Next Challenge 

There’s nothing wrong with a little jamming now and then, or so the late Bob Marley would have us believe in his classic tune.

However, when it comes to football, jamming might not be such a good thing where Donnell’s play is concerned.

Per PFF, Donnell has caught 25 of 31 pass targets in four games, including seven out of eight pass targets against Washington in Week 4.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

In their signature stats, PFF notes that Donnell has also caught 100 percent of his catachable pass targets (25), which is the best mark out of any tight end in the NFL who has played in at least 75 percent or more of his team’s offensive snaps.

We’re going to respectfully disagree with PFF on this point that Donnell has caught all of his catachable passes, citing the lone incomplete pass thrown his way in the Washington game which was catachable were it not for Washington doing something different to Donnell on the play.  

In studying the incomplete passes to Donnell, a common occurrence on each is that he was afforded a free release by the defense, meaning that as soon as the ball was snapped, he ran untouched into his pattern. 

This practice continued against Washington, except for an early fourth-quarter target on a 2nd-and-2 when Donnell received his first true jam of the young season.

On the play, linebacker Perry Riley Jr. legally jams Donnell as he comes off the line of scrimmage (left frame).

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Again, this was the first time in this game a defender jammed Donnell within the legal area. Coincidentally (or not), it was also the first incomplete pass to Donnell in which a receiver jammed him.

The jam and the subsequent hold on Donnell’s jersey (right frame), which by the way went uncalled, was just enough to prevent Donnell from making a move to the outside where the ball was thrown.

Although Donnell did try to extend his arms for the ball, the pass fell incomplete.

With Donnell having a reputation now as being Eli Manning’s go-to guy, it will be interesting to see if opposing defenses try to jam him off the line of scrimmage more to take away that free release.

If so, it will be interesting to see how effective Donnell, who seems to have the strength to fight the jam, reacts. 

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

A Bright Future  

For as far as Donnell has come in his development, head coach Tom Coughlin said that the young man still has a ways to go before he even comes close to reaching his talent ceiling. 

“Grooming him into being the all-purpose tight end, there’s a lot of responsibilities there,” Coughlin recently told reporters during a conference call.

“There’s a lot to have to accomplish—the blocking part of it, the knowledge of the game, the routes and how to run them from that inside position against defenders, whether they be big, strong linebacker types, safety types—whatever it might be.”

The good news is that the coaching staff remains committed to developing his still untapped potential in the hopes that this hidden gem of a player might become the first tight end to play in back-to-back seasons for the franchise since Kevin Boss (2007 to 2010).

“There’s a young, inexperienced player that’s eager to learn and has athleticism, has speed, has outstanding hands, so we’ve always had a high level of expectation for this player and how he can develop,” Coughlin said.

“He’s started along those lines. There’s a long way to go, but it doesn’t change what we think this player can be.”

Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus (subscription required), unless otherwise noted.

All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.