Rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, officially signed his contract with the New York Giants on Monday.
While Bellinger is now on the books, the Giants still have two draft picks who remain unsigned (per the team’s official website): second-round wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and fourth-round safety Dane Belton.
ALL the latest Giants news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on Giants newsletter here!
The Giants have had over two months to negotiate with these rookies, but the delay in signings is part of a larger, league-wide trend. Last month, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweeted a chart and explained why second- and fourth-round picks have been slow to ink rookie deals this year.
Fourth-round picks have been the slowest to agree to deals, in large part because the #Texans have RB Dameone Pierce (second pick in the round) an extra $25k over the minimum, so now every agent behind him is asking for the same. Below pic: Number of signings as of yesterday.
As of June 9, only 40.63 percent of second-round picks and just 23.68% of all fourth-round picks had signed their contracts. Over 90 percent of all other draft picks had already signed their rookie deals at that point.
Daniel Bellinger Sees Himself as ‘Hybrid’ Tight End
The Giants underwent a significant overhaul at the tight end position this offseason. They let Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars) walk in free agency and cut Kyle Rudolph (free agent), then signed veterans Ricky Seals-Jones and Jordan Akins and drafted Daniel Bellinger.
Bellinger projects to be the starting tight end, which means he’ll have to do a little bit of everything for the Giants as a rookie.
Daniel Bellinger makes it official 🔏
“I’m all over, a hybrid,” Bellinger said on the Giants Huddle podcast last week, per Giants.com. “Of course, you know the tight ends run block, pass block. But definitely one that’s going to get his hand in the dirt, and another that’s going to get open and catch some balls. One that does kind of both … I want to show that I do have a lot of potential, not just in the run game, but in the pass game as well.”
Engram averaged 4.0 receptions per game over the past five seasons with the Giants. The most receptions Bellinger ever had in a game at San Diego State was five, so he has a lot of room to grow as a pass catcher.
Wan’Dale Robinson Familiar with Giants’ Pre-Snap Motion
Pre-snap motion is going to be a bigger part of what the Giants do on offense under head coach Brian Daboll. Veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard recently admitted that it’s an “overwhelming” aspect of the offense to learn.
Wan’Dale Robinson, on the other hand, is already familiar with a lot of pre-snap motion from his time at Kentucky.
“It just allows you to get a lot more one-on-one and get a lot of space,” Robinson said on the Giants Huddle podcast, via Giants.com. “Create mismatches for the defense. They have to communicate and things like that. Whenever you’re moving and playing fast, defenses can’t communicate, and you get a lot of big plays out of that.”
Here’s an example of one of those big plays:
Blocking wasn’t even terrific and Wan’Dale Robinson still busts it for 65 yards.
He’s gonna attract a ton of attention when in motion, which will be often.
To say this Giants offense has been missing this type of explosiveness for a while would be an understatement.
The Giants need to get Robinson under contract sooner rather than later, because his familiarity with pre-snap motion and unique playmaking ability will be valuable this season.
Dane Belton Works Out Privately With Giants DBs
Dane Belton may be unsigned, but the Iowa product appears to be all-in with the Giants. He recently worked out privately in Florida with current Giants defensive backs, including Xavier McKinney and Aaron Robinson, as well as one former Giants DB in Logan Ryan (now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
via Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record:
Giants DBs Xavier McKinney, Aaron Robinson and rookie Dane Belton were among those together in Florida for workouts last week with Logan Ryan and performance coach Yo Murphy, with whom some in NYG secondary also trained last offseason in sessions coordinated by Ryan.
It’s interesting that current Giants are still working out with Ryan, who was unceremoniously released by the new regime this offseason. Ryan was a team captain last year, and Belton got an unusual opportunity to experience that leadership by training with him in a private setting.
Comments
Giants Still Have Two Draft Picks Who Remain Unsigned