New York Giants 2022 Training Camp Roster Preview: TE Austin Allen

Undrafted free agent tight end Austin Allen could be a prospect to watch this summer as the Giants seek to remake their tight end room for the short- and long-term.

After cutting Kyle Rudolph and Kaden Smith and letting Evan Engram leave via free agency, it was no secret that the New York Giants were looking to revamp their tight ends room.

Among the notable moves made include the free-agency additions of Ricky-Seals Jones and Jordan Akins, the drafting of fourth-round pick Daniel Bellinger, and the signing of undrafted rookie free agent Austin Allen out of Nebraska.

Allen is an interesting prospect. In 2021, he won Big-10 Conference "Tight End of the Year" honors while earning second-team all Big-10 honors. During this same season, Allen broke several Nebraska records, including the single-game mark for receiving yards by a tight end in his final college-level contest against Wisconsin, and truly made a name for himself through his play on the football field.

Allen’s biggest asset is his size. Standing at 6-foot-8 with a wingspan measuring nearly 81-inches, there is no doubt that Allen has the potential to be a problem to deal with from a physical perspective. But how much polish does he still need to get the upper hand consistently against opponents at the next level?

What He Brings

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Allen possesses elite size with a huge catch radius. This, combined with his strong hands, makes him a plus in contested catch situations, where he has a college career success rate of 66.7 percent.

Allen is not the best athlete, but when using the athleticism he possesses, he is a solid target over the middle. This can be especially useful in short-yardage situations, where he can box out his defender and secure the ball to his body, allowing the quarterback to dump the ball off quickly.

Allen also has the potential to be a good blocking tight end but will have to work on his overall technique to truly excel in this front. Allen could be a major steal for the Giants down the line given his massive size, some refinement to his technique combined with an overall improvement in his strength.

His Contract

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As an undrafted free agent, Allen is signed to a three-year, $2.56 million contract, making his average salary about $853,000 per year. He accounts for a $705,000 cap hit for the 2022 NFL season. 

He has $40,000 of his first-year base salary guaranteed, and he received a $15,000 signing bonus.

Roster Projection/Expectation

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The Giants will try to figure out what they have at tight end over the next few months. On the surface, only Daniel Bellinger projects for the long-term of this group. Still, Allen, who at 23 years old is younger than both Ricky Seals-Jones (27) and Jordan Akins (30), could emerge as another option to give the Giants some additional upside at the position.

That said, Allen is likely a work in progress that, as previously mentioned, needs some refinement to his technique and his strength.

He probably won't make the 53-man roster out of training camp unless there is a rash of injuries. Still, there is enough to like about his game to believe that a spot on the practice squad awaits, with a chance at maybe being promoted to the 53-man roster during the upcoming season. 

 

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