Scouting Primer for New York Giants' Top Offseason Needs: Part 3, Tight Ends and Safeties
The next Giants general manager and head coach will have many roster decisions to make, two of which we'll cover in this installment: tight end and safety.
With Evan Engram and Jabrill Peppers heading to free agency, and Kyle Rudolph a potential cap cut, the depth chart at these positions could look much different next season.
Continuing our scouting position primer, here are the critical specific traits to evaluate when looking at these two positions.
Tight Ends: The Key Traits
Tight ends are unique players because they come in different shapes, sizes, and styles with different skill sets to provide an offense. However, as is evident with some of the best teams in the league, having a highly effective tight end can give an offense a unique weapon to attack a defense.
Players like Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Rob Gronkowski showcase as much. Their primary impact comes in the passing game, but plenty of tight ends have made a living in the league off primarily thriving as a blocker.
Many teams across the league have two main ways to group tight ends: as an “F” or as a “Y.” Now, not every tight end falls into only one of these buckets. Some players have skillsets to fit in both, but grouping players into these main classifications help to better identify their primary value to the offense.
It all depends on the offensive scheme and what the coaches desire, but when filling out a tight end depth chart, usually you want one player with standout “F” qualities, one “Y” type, and one or two who’s a little bit in between.
Regardless, unless it’s a highly unique offensive scheme, a player who can function in both of these main roles is necessary.
So, what are the desirable traits in these prototypes? Well, with an “F” tight end, you’re looking at a player whose best skills are his receiving traits. Look no further than Evan Engram – Engram is the truest of "F" types. An "F" is the player that offensive coordinators can be creative with regarding their usage and where they align.
The priority among these types is their athletic qualities, ability to catch the ball and run after catch. Naturally, tight ends will not possess the same route running skills as wide receivers, given they typically play at a heavier weight than wideouts. Still, they’re also primarily matched against safeties or linebackers, thus placing a bigger emphasis on skills such as strong hands and ability to use their body throughout the play to separate and uncover as well as win a contested-catch situation – something that makes these receiving tight ends stand out on film.
Body type-wise, usually F’s are lighter than Y’s, often making them a liability as a blocker on the line of scrimmage. This is why, depending on the exact skillset, coordinators have to be careful about what they’re asking this player to do – asking them to play with their hand in the dirt and block defensive ends or outside linebackers often is a negative mismatch. With an F tight end, any blocking ability they give you is truly a bonus, as their primary role and value to the team is in the passing game.
A prototypical Y-TE brings different value to an offense than an F type: blocking. The "Y" position is becoming harder to find in today’s game. One big reason for that is the declining use and development of this type in the college game.
With many college offenses being more spread out and prioritizing the passing game over true, online blocking, there are far fewer developmental "Y" types in the pipeline for teams to draft.
For years the prototypical blocking-first tight end has been Lee Smith, who’s had an 11-year career being a "Y." The attractiveness of this type of player is the ability to play heavier personnel packages and experience success rushing the ball due to having another good blocker in the game.
As far as specific traits, the key skills to be a successful blocker are strength, technique, and effort. To win the line of scrimmage, you have to win initially, which means coming off the ball with good strike and strong hands to neutralize the defender or knock them back.
Often tight ends have really poor technique, which hinders their ability to sustain blocks – due to lack of balance, waist bending, poor hand placement, or some combination of these things. Truthfully, it's often not pretty for all tight ends (including Y’s), but the best ones get the job done due to winning initially with strike and good angles, using their hands and sustaining the block, and competing through the end of the rep.
As simple as it may sound, that’s how blocking tight ends sustain a career in the league. Like blocking being a bonus for F types, any receiving value a Y brings is just an added way to help the offense on top of being a blocking-focused player.
Some Y’s have good hands but just lack the athletic traits to run good routes and uncover, and some have good athletic ability but struggle to catch the ball. Either way, when that team acquires a "Y," it’s with the clear idea in mind that their primary value to the football team will come in the effort to win the line of scrimmage.
What the Giants need to add:
Kaden Smith should be back in 2022 as he’s a productive, well-rounded player that also comes at a cheap cost. Outside of that, it’s hard to predict what the Giants will do at this position, given Engram's and Rudolph’s statuses.
Their decisions on Engram and Rudolph will shape what they need and how they go about building this group but look for the Giants to ensure having a set of players that allow them an option or two in the passing game, as well as a player they can count on as a productive blocker.
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Safety: The Key Traits
As the last line of defense and back end of the defense, safeties play a critical role in solidifying coverages and shoring up a defense. The safety position is continuing to evolve, and the responsibilities of safeties continue to expand.
Teams are playing increasingly more dime packages (six defensive backs), and therefore safeties are being deployed more and more. Like with every position, there are roles carved out for safeties with certain skill sets to best suit the defense.
The best safeties in the game are the ultra-versatile players that can be trusted to play a wide variety of roles, including playing the deep part of the field, playing closer to the line of scrimmage, and being matched man-to-man versus running backs and tight ends.
When evaluating a safety, it’s important to evaluate how they play the deep part of the field. When playing deep, a player has to have strong instincts and ability to see the field to be successful.
Often a deep safety has to decide which route to cover when to break on the ball or take a proper angle in the open field. Being a step slow or late to process and react is a sign of a safety that lacks instincts and struggles to “see the whole picture.” Being instinctive is one thing, but having the athletic qualities to make plays on and around the ball is another.
One trait that can jump off the tape is a safety’s range and closing speed. Playing in space and covering as much ground as safeties often do, playing fast and running can be the difference in making a play or not. Safeties often backpedal, flip their hips, plant, drive, and break on the ball from all different directions, meaning movement skills are just as important as straight-line speed or burst to close.
Dolphins rookie Jevon Holland is a young player with all these qualities. He’s extremely intuitive with great play speed, range, and playmaking ability. He was the Dolphins deep safety and thrived in his first year in the league. Last, being a good tackler is a must-have quality.
Being the “last line of defense” means just that – the last chance to make a tackle and save a touchdown. The best tacklers are the ones that take good angles, come to balance before attempting a tackle, and then use good form to wrap the player up.
A safety that plays closer to the line of scrimmage is often more involved in both the run game and covering players man to man in passing situations. A safety that plays deep can sometimes get away with not being as big or having shorter arms, but being closer to the ball consistently means size and length are more necessary to compete.
Physicality, use of hands, and ability to find the ball in the run game usually leads to a very productive “box safety.” The NFL is a league of matchups, which is why having a safety type that can cover is a huge weapon. Many cornerbacks are too small to cover tight ends, which means a bigger, longer safety can fill this role and allow the defense a better matchup against a bigger player.
What the Giants need to add:
The Giants have a keeper in Xavier McKinney – he played in every game this year and finished with five interceptions and 93 total tackles. Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan were held in high regard with the old regime, but the new head coach and general manager may not believe them to be part of the long-term future.
Peppers, who will be a free agent, is a slightly above average box safety coming off a couple of major injuries, and Ryan is a declining soon-to-be 31-year-old. However, per Spotrac, cutting Ryan would cause an $11.4 million dead cap figure in 2022, so it makes sense to keep him on the roster in 2022 then cut him heading into 2023, where his dead cap figure is $2.9 million.
If Ryan is around to pair with McKinney, the Giants will need a bigger safety that’s best closer to the ball. Safety isn’t amongst the Giants' biggest needs, but it’s a position that can’t be forgotten about this off-season.
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