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The New York Giants are down bad, as the youths like to say. While Saquon Barkley looked like the next great at running back, injuries have plagued his recent years. Combine that with a questionable contract to Kenny Golladay, and the Giants lack offensive firepower. Quarterback Daniel Jones is in the final year of his contract and needs to find a reliable target in this offense.
Who is the starting tight end for the New York Giants?
With Evan Engram now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York is looking for a new starting tight end. With this in mind, they headed into the 2022 NFL Draft and selected San Diego State tight end Daniel Bellinger, with their first fourth-round pick. He and undrafted tight end Austin Allen join Chris Myarick and Tanner Hudson as the tight ends on the Giants' depth chart. Bellinger is expected to be the starter.
Will he split offensive snaps?
Bellinger is already suffering from a preseason concussion, so I’d expect him to split snaps as the season begins. New York didn’t rely on their tight end heavily last season so expect them to rotate tight ends again this year. Engram played in 15 games last season and caught 46 of his 73 targets for only 408 yards and three touchdowns. Engram played 65.58% of offensive snaps while backup Kyle Rudolph played 45.41%. Even third-string tight end Kaden Smith saw 17.44% of snaps, so I’d expect the tight ends to split snaps throughout the year once again.
Should I draft him in fantasy football?
Despite his problem with drops, Engram is more talented than any of the team’s current tight ends. Even seeing more than half the team’s offensive snaps, he finished as the overall TE23 in half-PPR scoring formats. This usage and result combo doesn’t inspire confidence for Bellinger in his rookie season, so you can leave him to the waiver wire as the regular season starts.