The New York Giants thought they had their tight end situation straightened out this season when they selected Penn State’s Theo Johnson in the fourth round of the NFL draft.
The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Johnson possessed similar size and skills to that of Darren Waller, who retired during the offseason.
For a while, it worked. Johnson became the Giants’ top receiving tight end catching 29 of 43 targets for 331 yards and a touchdown in 11 starts this season before breaking a bone in his foot in the Giants’ Thanksgiving Day loss in Dallas.
The Giants’ depth chart puts Daniel Bellinger back into a receiving role while Chris Manhertz remains the primary blocking tight end.
There’s a new piece to the equation, however.
Last week, the Giants claimed Greg Dulcich off waivers from Denver. He is a talented player who fell through the cracks with coaching changes and injuries as a 2022 third-round pick 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 rest of the year.
“Just next man up,” said Kafka. “And Bellinger’s been here. He knows the system well. He’ll step into that role. Obviously, Coach (Tim) Kelly does a great job getting all those guys in. We’ve got new guys with Dulcich in the room now and getting him kind of caught up a little bit. So, things are progressing really well. We like where that room’s at.”
Dulcich looks like a 6-foot-3 ringer for actor James Franco who arguably has the best head of hair of any Giants player since Pete Athas.
Former #Broncos TE Greg Dulcich was claimed off waivers by the #Giants, per source. A fresh start. pic.twitter.com/PavNW2oEek
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 26, 2024
The former UCLA standout could easily become a prime target for Giants quarterbacks as the season unwinds.
“Well, we’ll start looking at him here and see what he can do,” head Coach Brian Daboll said this week. “He’s a fast guy. He’s had some production and injured some, so we’ll get a look at him.”
They might do more than that. The Giants aren’t throwing deep this season. That’s a story for another day, but the short passing game could include Dulcich, and sooner than many think.
It makes sense for the Giants to give Dulcich a shot here. He’s still on his rookie contract and, well, they need him. This could be one of those small, under-the-radar moves that yields a big result.
