Since his promising 2022 rookie season, New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger has always seemed like an under-appreciated, under-utilized. With NFL free agency looming, Bellinger now has an opportunity to find out if someone else will show him more appreciation than the Giants.
Bellinger said at the end of the season that GM Joe Schoen had told him he was “part of the solution, not part of the problem” for the Giants.
Bellinger, though, also said that a bigger role elsewhere had appeal.
“Everybody wants to be number one in their position to succeed as much as they can,” Bellinger said. “And, of course, that’s what I want.
“But like I said, like my main goal in football from Little League to now and furthermore is just help a team win. If that is a tight end one role, that’s what I want.You know what I mean? But if I can help a team in a tight end two role or in special teams, whatever it takes to help a team win, I think is my biggest goal, because that’s what I want to walk away from the game and say, OK, I helped the team win games.”
Bellinger’s future with the Giants is no longer solely up to Schoen. New head coach John Harbaugh seems to be wielding final authority over most things these days, and which of their own free agents they prioritize keeping will likely be his call.
Reasons to keep Bellinger
The 6-foot-6, 255-pound Bellinger, who is entering his age 26 season, is a good player. One the Giants, in my view, have not taken full advantage of the past three seasons.
Theo Johnson is considered a better athlete with higher upside, but there isn’t that much separation between the two:
Johnson is considered the more explosive player, and has averaged 11.6 yards per catch to Bellinger’s 10.6. Bellinger, though, did average 15.1 yards on 19 catches last season.
Bellinger also has exceptional hands. He has dropped just three of 106 targets (2.8%) in four seasons. Johnson has 10 drops in 117 targets over two years, a drop rate of 10.5%.
Bellinger may not block at a Chris Manhertz level, but he is useful as an inline tight end and occasional lead blocker from the fullback spot.
Bellinger does not figure to be expensive in free agency. Spotrac projects his market value at only $2.5 million on a one-year deal.
Reasons to let him go
Maybe Harbaugh looks at Bellinger, sees the same ordinary player Brian Daboll apparently saw, and wants to bring in someone else. Maybe someone like Isaiah Likely or Charlie Kolar, pending free agent tight ends who played for Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens. Maybe the Giants will prioritize Manhertz’s blocking and add a pure pass catcher to supplement the tight end room.
Maybe the Giants really believe 2025 seventh-round pick Thomas Fidone can step into a major role.
Verdict
I would keep him. I don’t, though, believe the Giants will.
I think someone is going to get a useful player at a bargain price, and that the Giants will end up wishing they had valued Bellinger’s reliability rather than Johnson’s flash.
