The New York Giants are a surprising 6-2 at the midway point of the 2022 NFL regular season, and a lot of that has to do with a productive rookie class.
Although the current group of rookies have endured a number of injuries and missed some time, they have produced well on the field. That includes safety Dane Belton in coverage, linebacker Micah McFadden against the run and guard Joshua Ezeudu as an unexpected fill-in.
CBS Sports recently announced their Midseason All-Rookie Team and to no one’s surprise, a pair from the Giants’ draft class made it. But it may not be exactly who you’d expect.
First up was edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, one of the team’s two first-round picks. His box score numbers may not look particularly impressive, but his film sure does.
As for Thibodeaux, he’s started to come into his own after an injury delayed his NFL debut. Run-stopping, quick pass-run wins — we’re beginning to see the Thibodeaux who shined for three seasons at Oregon. He has multiple pressures in his past five outings.
The second Giants to make the cut wasn’t right tackle Evan Neal. Or the aforementioned Belton, McFadden or Ezeudu. Rather, it was tight end Daniel Bellinger, who also has the NFL’s fifth-highest tight end grade.
Bellinger’s currently dealing with a nasty eye injury, yet the former San Diego State phenom whom the Giants picked in the fourth round has been a focal point of the Giants’ low-volume passing offense during the team’s surprising 6-2 start. He has 16 catches for 152 yards with two scores, and his 6.4 yards-after-the-catch-per-reception average leads all qualifying rookie tight ends.
Bellinger’s absence was quite noticeable during the team’s Week 8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Luckily, they expect him to return to 100% following surgery and be back on the field as early as Week 11.
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