Larry Donnell may be the odd man out in a suddenly crowded New York Giants tight end group
By Ryan Disdier
After ending 2015 on injured reserve, tight end Larry Donnell‘s time may be running out with the New York Giants.
Ever since Eli Manning has been the starter for the New York Giants, he has generally gotten a lot of production out of average tight ends.
Jeremy Shockey, who was the best tight end Manning every played with, saw great success with the G-Men. Ditto for Kevin Boss. Martellus Bennett saw somewhat of a breakout year in New York. Brandon Myers, who was on the team for on year (2013), is the lone exception, but it’s not like he had an absolutely terrible season.
In 2014, the unknown Larry Donnell scored three touchdowns in a prime-time game against Washington. From that point on, Donnell established himself as the alpha male of a relatively weak tight-end group.
But last year Donnell was frustratingly inconsistent at times, despite making a miraculous catch against the 49ers. He ended the year on IR, which led to Will Tye emerging as a somewhat dangerous receiving tight end, as well as the return of Matt LaCosse, whom the Giants seemed to be pretty high on last offseason.
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In the sixth round of the draft, the Giants selected South Carolina tight end Jerrell Adams, whom was considered by many to be a steal of a pick.
Because of all of that, Donnell may face a tough time making the final roster, and he may even see himself be the odd tight end out of a group that is suddenly, relatively deep.
For starters, Donnell, who is set to make $1.67 million in 2016 (according to Spotrac.com), has never been a consistent tight end. He’s displayed flashes of his natural athletic ability, but his hands have always been shaky.
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In the open field, Donnell has trouble holding onto the ball. He had a handful of costly fumbles in 2014, and last year he had a ball get wrestled away from his hands. For some reason, Donnell also seemed to have a penchant for leaving his feet for no real reason.
In terms of blocking, Donnell is still subpar at best, even after trying to improve on that asset of his game entering the 2015 season. Few tight ends are going to be true impact blockers, but often times the best-case scenario with Donnell is him getting to whom he’s supposed to block. He whiffs more often than coaches like to see, and he doesn’t always move his feet or get low.
So why may Donnell’s days in New York be numbered? Well, Tye is a much better receiver than he is. Tye can get vertical quickly with his 4.5 speed, and he’s much better with the ball in his hands.
LaCosse, despite being inexperienced, is a better blocker than Donnell. Although his technique may not be exactly refined, he blocks with the type of effort Donnell’s blocks lack.
In terms of Adams, there isn’t much film available to evaluate him, but he projects to be a better receiver and blocker than Donnell. He also has the size (6-foot-5) that made Donnell unique. He’s every bit the physical specimen Donnell is, but with higher upside and better athleticism and blocking ability.
While in an ideal world Donnell would remain on the team, it’s hard to imagine the Giants would enter the season with four or more tight ends on the roster. That’s especially true if the team believes they’ve seen the best from Donnell.
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It’s not like Donnell transcends the offense, either. And it’s not like the unit struggled without him last year. The passing offense finished seventh overall, and Tye, who actually started one less game than Donnell, finished with 13 more receptions and 241 more yards.
There’s certainly a chance the Giants decide to maintain Donnell, but it wouldn’t shock me whatsoever to see Tye, LaCosse and Adams make the Grambling State product expendable.