New York Giants: Golden Tate will be a big factor in 2019
New York Giants training camp opens up July 24 and one player that will be a huge factor this coming season is wide receiver Golden Tate.
Training camp for the New York Giants opens in a few days and with it many questions abound. Can the G-Men rebound from a dismal 5-11 campaign of a year ago and compete for a playoff berth in the rugged NFC?
Another pertinent question is: Who will step up and help make up for the departure of Odell Beckham, Jr. to the Cleveland Browns?
One player that will be an important factor in helping replace the mercurial Beckham is 30-year old veteran wide receiver Golden Tate. Let’s take a closer look at the 10-year NFL veteran.
2018 Season Recap
The Notre Dame product split his time between the Detroit Lions (seven games) and Philadelphia Eagles (eight games). Tate finished the campaign with 74 receptions for 795 yards and four touchdowns in all but struggled for the most part in Philly (30-278-1).
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The 74 catches were his lowest total since 2013 with Seattle (64) and his 795 receiving yards were his fewest since the 2012 season with the Seattle Seahawks. Quite a disappointing season overall.
2019 Season Outlook
The Hendersonville, TN native may be a little past his prime but he should still be able to boost a Big Blue passing attack that needs to make up for the loss of Beckham. No individual player can do that alone, it would be crazy to think otherwise.
Tate has always performed well from the slot so that will be his bread and butter this coming season. He’s never been a home run hitter though and he’ll need to improve on his 10.7 yards-per-catch average from 2018. His career average is 11.8 yards per reception.
Look for Tate to split out wide on occasion but he’ll run most of his routes from the slot. He’s always been known for being a smart route runner with reliable hands, someone who can make the tough reception in traffic or in a key third down situation. Teammates Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram will have to take their game to another level as well as the G-Men play more small ball in their passing schemes/game plans.
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Tate will be counted on to find the end zone more often as well in 2019 and be a viable red zone target. He really needs to kick his game up a notch (as Emeril Lagasse would say) if Big Blue is to contend for a NFC playoff berth. Whoever the Giants quarterback is — Eli Manning or rookie Daniel Jones — that signal-caller will be counting on him in a big way.