New York Giants: Full Position Breakdown and Depth-Chart Analysis at Tight End

Although the New York Giants added running back Shane Vereen and are hoping to have a receiving duo of Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz for 16 games this coming season, the tight end group will still be looked upon to make a significant contribution to the offense.

In addition to serving as the occasional receiver, the Giants will more than likely be looking for the tight ends to be more of a factor in run blocking, especially as the newly configured offensive line continues to jell.

Who are the faces at this under-the-radar position? Let’s meet them.

Larry Donnell, 6'6", 265 lbs, Grambling

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2014 Season in Review

Last year, Larry Donnell, then a second-year player, emerged as the newly appointed starting tight end after posting a strong training camp.

In the first four games of the 2014 season, Donnell justified his new status. According to data from Pro Football Focus, Donnell set the league on fire in the first month of the season, catching 80.6 percent of the passes thrown his way for an average of 59 yards per game, with four touchdowns.

Donnell’s highlight came in Week 4 against Washington, a game in which he hauled in three touchdown receptions as part of a seven-catch, 54-yard performance on national television.

After the first month of the season, opponents caught wise to the Giants’ plans of using Donnell as their secret weapon and started chipping him at the line of scrimmage.  

Donnell never really adjusted to the extra attention, his numbers tumbling as a result. For the remaining 12 games, he only caught two more touchdown passes, and his average receiving yards dropped to 35.1 yards per game.

His run blocking was also exposed as not being very good. In those remaining 12 games, Donnell graded out positively—barely at that—in just two of the games, his final run-blocking grade falling to minus-13.1 for the 2014 season.

2015 Outlook

So where does Donnell need to improve? Obviously, the first area is run blocking, where some added strength would help.

Then there is a matter of cleaning up his technique, something that Donnell addressed by taking up boxing in order to improve his hand placement.

"I was trying to refine my game so I can be better in the run game. I did some things, changed it up a little bit weight-wise and all," Donnell told Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media at the start of the OTAs.

"The big problem with me is my hands used to go too wide. People used to get their hands inside of me, inside my chest and I lost a lot of battles there."

With the added strength and the better use of his hands, Donnell hopes to keep defenders from latching onto him and impeding his progress.

So far, it’s been hard to gauge what kind of progress he’s made in that regard as he’s been sidelined with Achilles tendinitis, but certainly the coaches will be keeping an eye on his development this summer.

Daniel Fells, 6'4", 260 lbs, California-Davis

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2014 Season in Review

After sitting out the 2013 season, veteran tight end Daniel Fells joined the Giants in 2014 and actually turned out to be a nice find for New York.

Fells was perhaps the most complete of the tight ends—a man who could block and catch the ball. As a blocker, he graded out with a 3.9 run-blocking grade, the best of the Giants’ three tight ends.

He was just as good as a receiver, with his 2.0 grade, which translated into four touchdown receptions (third-best on the team), and a team-best 80 percent reception rate among the tight end group.

2015 Outlook

Although the team has yet to don the pads, Fells has looked much better as a receiver this spring, especially in working up the seam, albeit against inexperienced safeties.

Despite being a leader on that tight end unit and a more than serviceable player, Fells is likely going to be the first to go if either Will Tye or Matt LaCosse have a strong training camp.

The 31-year-old Fells, remember, was given a one-year, qualifying contract, according to Over the Cap. That means that despite having an $870,000 base salary with an $80,000 signing bonus, Fells actually counts for just $665,000 against the 2015 cap.

If he is cut, the Giants will only be charged $80,000 in dead money. 

Adrien Robinson, 6'4", 264 lbs, Cincinnati

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2014 Season in Review

Of all the Giants tight ends, Adrien Robinson, the only draft pick of the bunch—he’s a 2012 fourth-round pick—is probably the most enigmatic.  

As a rookie, Robinson came into the spring OTAs last, this due to his college classes running late. Unfortunately, he never did manage to get caught up in the offense and ended up receiving just three snaps on offense that first season, according to Pro Football Focus.

The next season, Robinson, was inactive for the first 14 games of the season, this due to a foot injury that struck him down in the final preseason game of that year.

When he finally did earn a game uniform, he suffered a knee injury on the opening kickoff of Week 16 and was not heard from again that season.

In 2014, Robinson received 77 snaps on offense, turning in a mixed bag. He was decent as a run-blocker, finishing with a 1.2 grade, the second-best grade behind team leader Daniel Fells, and a significant improvement from his minus-3.3 preseason run-blocking grade.

As a receiver, Robinson’s contributions can best be described as minimal. He caught five out of seven pass targets for 50 yards, meaning the team didn’t really throw to him in the seam (they did once, but the pass was incomplete). Robinson also recorded one touchdown catch but had one dropped pass as well.  

2015 Outlook

Robinson is entering the final season of his rookie deal.

Since general manager Jerry Reese has said he prefers to give the draft picks "a chance to fail" before pushing them out the door, it would not be surprising if Robinson, who showed some signs of being able to contribute as an NFL tight end toward the end of last season, isn't on the roster.

However, the team will have a tough time justifying keeping a player whose career has largely been a disappointment if youngsters such as Jerome Cunningham, Matt LaCosse and Will Tye all step up to the plate.

Jerome Cunningham, 6'3", 250 lbs, Southern Connecticut State

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2014 Season in Review

Jerome Cunningham spent the 2014 season on the Giants’ practice squad after coming into training camp late—he was an injury replacement for Xavier Grimble—and flashing some talent as a pass receiver during training camp.

2015 Outlook

With Larry Donnell sidelined most of the spring due to tendinitis, Cunningham has been bumped up to the starting unit, ahead of Fells.

So far, so good for the 24-year-old Cunningham. He has caught numerous passes thrown his way and has looked flawless working the seam. He has also seen snaps at a variety of positions, including in-line, split wide, in the slot and from the backfield.

The big question mark regarding Cunningham—and this is something he admits he’s going to make sure he polishes up if he’s to have a chance of making the 53-man roster—is his run blocking.

Cunningham is a chiseled-looking 250-pounder, which makes him the lightest of the tight ends the Giants are scheduled to bring into training camp this summer. 

Weight aside, if Cunningham is to have a chance at excelling as a blocker, things such as hand placement and leverage are going to be key elements for him to master.

He has the desire and the intelligence, and he doesn’t have his head in the sand regarding his shortcomings. Can he show up come July 30, when the Giants open training camp, and show the coaches that he can indeed be the complete package?

Stay tuned.

The Rookie Prospects

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Matt LaCosse

Matt LaCosse, 6'5", 261 lbs, Illinois

When a team offers an undrafted free agent some guaranteed money beyond the signing bonus, such as what the Giants did with Matt LaCosse (h/t Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media), that’s usually a good sign that they’re excited about that player.

There’s certainly a lot to be excited about LaCosse, who excelled as a blocker in that Big Ten division. LaCosse was part of a blocking brigade that enabled the running game to average 3.7 yards per carry (413 rushes on 1,527 yards) and 16 rushing touchdowns.

This spring, LaCosse hasn’t had much of a chance to show off his blocking prowess, this due to the lack of pads and the no-contact nature of the practices.

Instead, he has shown himself to be a speedy route-runner with soft, reliable hands who is able to separate from coverage. 

In college, he caught 38 balls for 397 yards (10.4 avg.) and six touchdowns, his best season as a receiver coming in 2013, when he posted career highs in receptions (20) and receiving yards (237).

With the Giants likely to keep three tight ends on the roster and a fourth one on the practice squad, right now, LaCosse has an inside track on at least the practice-squad spot.

With a solid training camp, he could find himself on the 53-man roster.

Will Tye, 6'2", 262 lbs, Stony Brook

Will Tye is another intriguing prospect at tight end who has good size and skills.

In his four-year college career, he started 18 of the 31 games in which he played, catching 80 passes for 1,022 yards (12.8 average) and nine touchdowns.

Tye, who transferred from Florida State to Stony Brook after the 2012 season, was the Seawolves' punt returner, returning 30 punts for 166 yards (5.5-yard average).

Tye has also shown himself to have soft hands in the Giants’ spring drills, so it will be interesting to see how far along his blocking game is.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. Unless otherwise noted, advanced analytics are from Pro Football Focus, and contract information is from Over the Cap. All other quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.