New York

Giants

Johnson was expected to compete for the starting tight end job after being selected in the fourth round of this year’s draft. Now, he lands on the physically unable to perform list at the start of camp with a hip injury. With Darren Waller’s retirement, Daniel Bellinger is now in line to start. The hope is Johnson’s injury is not serious but he will be out to start camp practices.

Should Daboll retain play-calling duties in the regular season, the offense will likely increase both its passing rate and overall pace of play. With Kafka running the offense from 2022-2023, the Giants ranked 20th in passing rate during one-score games (58.7 percent), 18th in plays per drive (6.0) and 14th in plays per game (65.7). In Daboll’s final two seasons with the Bills (2020-2021), their offense ranked first (69.0 percent), fourth (6.5) and eighth (68.3), respectively. Even moderate shifts toward Daboll’s old methods would increase both QB Daniel Jones and rookie WR Malik Nabers’ fantasy-scoring opportunities. Giants brass seemingly offset Kafka’s play-calling demotion by adding “assistant head coach” to his title.

With Darren Waller’s recent retirement, the Giants are looking for a reliable pass-catching tight end. “It looked this spring like Cager and fourth-round pick Theo Johnson will be asked” to fill Waller’s role in the New York offense. Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Cager, a converted wideout who has 19 receptions over five NFL seasons, was “probably one of the most improved players throughout the offseason.” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan did not mention presumed starting TE Daniel Bellinger as a candidate to take on pass-catching duties in 2024.

Hyatt declined to provide the exact number, though his increased bulk was apparently been a frequent topic of discussion during Giants OTAs. “That was one of the things I wanted to improve on,” Hyatt said. “Playing on the outside, you’re going to get more press coverage and more body-to-body catches. So just getting bigger, getting strong with my catch point, getting stronger with my hands, and so far everything is working.’’ Coach Brian Daboll also believes Hyatt is playing faster this offseason. Hyatt has understandably fallen off the fantasy radar after his quiet rookie campaign and the Giants’ subsequent first-round selection of Malik Nabers, but he’s a sensible, talent-based zero-cost flier in the final rounds of deeper drafts.

Saylors in 2024 led the UFL in rushing yards (537), averaging five yards per carry and scoring five touchdowns for the Battlehawks. Saylors led the UFL in yards after contact per rush. He also caught 24 passes for 264 yards. It will be an uphill battle for Saylors to crack the Giants roster this summer. For now, Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy are expected to lead New York’s backfield.

The fifth-round pick drew some praise from head coach Brian Daboll last week and has been getting plenty of reps with the first-team offense lately. He is competing with Eric Gray for the No. 2 job this summer. Though Devin Singletary is locked in as the team’s top running back, Tracy, a former wide receiver, could carve out a role as a pass-catching option out of the backfield early in his career. That would give him some stand-alone value while also positioning him as the clear beneficiary of any absence from Singletary. Tracy is shaping up to be one of the better late-round picks for early best ball drafters.

Herndon joined the Jags as a UDFA in 2018 and has been with the team ever since. The team brought him back for multiple one-year deals before letting him walk this offseason. Herndon logged nine pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one TFL as a part-time player in 2023. He has also held a role on special teams throughout his career. Herndon will compete for the primary nickel corner job in New York and will also see work on special teams.

Daboll told reporters that “something happened a few weeks ago” to Bellinger and his participation in spring and summer practices has since been limited. It’s unclear if Bellinger sustained a serious injury, but it will be something to monitor in the coming weeks. Bellinger, who had 30 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns over 11 games in 2022, profiles as the Giants’ clear No. 1 tight end after the retirement of Darren Waller. Rookie TE Theo Johnson would be next up if Bellinger misses time during the preseason or regular season.

After spending all of the offseason away from the Giants, Waller is now ready to hang it up. The eight-year vet entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Ravens back in 2015. The former Georgia Tech wide receiver battled through substance abuse issues early in his career and missed the 2017 season as a result of being suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He returned to the Ravens in 2018 and was traded to the Raiders at the end of that season. In 2019, Waller, who had made the permanent switch to tight end, broke out for 90-1145-3 and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2020 when he caught 107 passes for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. Injuries would plague him over the last three years, as he appeared in just 32 of a possible 51 games and played in just 12 games for the Giants in his lone season with the team. Waller overcame late draft capital, early struggles in his career, and a positional overhaul to carve out a solid career for himself. His retirement frees up roughly $11.6 million in cap space for the Giants, who are now expected to go with third-year tight end Daniel Bellinger as their starter. They also selected Penn State’s Theo Johnson with the No. 107 pick in this year’s draft.

Singletary, who signed with the Giants on a surprisingly pricey three-year deal worth $16.5 million, was in Daboll’s offense in Buffalo before Daboll left for the Giants’ head coaching job. Understanding the intricacies of an offense is often crucial in a running back earning a lead back role. In Houston last season, Singletary was 13th in evasion rate and ninth in yards before contact per rush. He had the third most rush yards over the second half of the season. While Daboll complimented rookie RB Tyone Tracy’s progress in OTAs, no back is likely to challenge Singletary for the Week 1 RB1 role.