The Giants feel confident that making a switch to Ben McAdoo as offensive coordinator will bring quarterback Eli Manning back to a higher level of play than they saw when he tossed away 27 interceptions in 2013, but one spot on their starting offense is still up for grabs.
The Giants don’t have a clear-cut No. 1 tight end after none of the options on hand showed enough to nail down the job during the offseason. General Manager Jerry Reese suggested that the team may not settle on one before the start of the season, but pointed to two members of the group as players expected to take a step forward this season.
“I think the jury is still out on who the No. 1 tight end is, I think it’ll probably be tight end by committee,” Reese said on WFAN, via the Newark Star-Ledger. “But there are some really good tight ends, some athletic, big guys who can run and catch the ball. Adrien Robinson and Larry Donnell are a couple of young guys who have been on the squad for a couple of years, but have had some injury stuff going on with them. We expect them to be healthy and to be able to pick up the slack here.”
Robinson’s athletic ability has drawn rave reviews over his two years with the team, but there’s been almost no on-field production to back that up. He played one snap last season while Donnell was used sparingly as well. Reese didn’t close the door on bringing in help from outside -- Dustin Keller and Jermichael Finley are both free agents, albeit ones with health concerns -- but said Robinson and Donnell could be “dynamic” if they are healthy.
A big if given their history and a big question mark for the Giants offense as training camp approaches.