With a slew of tight ends on the roster and questions in the backfield, the New York Giants should make Will Tye their starting fullback.
Tonight, the New York Giants take on the Cleveland Browns in the Dawg Pound, which will be their second preseason affair of the summer.In their Monday night matchup, head coach Ben McAdoo and company will continue to assess the talent they have at their disposal as they try to assemble their 53-man roster. One player whose spot might be in jeopardy? Tight end Will Tye.
After signing former Minnesota Vikings tight end Rhett Ellison—who inked a four-year, $18 million deal in free agency—and drafting rookie Evan Engram—the Giants are now very deep at tight end. Aside from Tye, Jerell Adams and Matt LaCosse remain from last year’s squad.
Chances are someone will be cut when it’s all said and done.
While the logjam present makes it more difficult for him to get reps at tight end, there is still a starting position that Tye could potentially play up for grabs—fullback.
By moving Tye to fullback, the Giants would be able to avoid making the tough decision in cutting one, if not more of their tight ends. It’s a move that also makes sense for the offense as a whole.
Over the past two years, Tye has become a solid run blocker. He keeps his pads low and rarely gets blown past by an oncoming defender. He’s been an asset when it comes to protecting Eli Manning—something which has proven to be a collective struggle over the duration of the past two seasons.
Standing 6’2″ and weighing in at 256 pounds, Tye is built for the position. He’d also give Big Blue another weapon in the backfield thanks to his ability to roll out as a receiver.
Over the past two seasons in the team’s West Coast offense, Tye has 90 receptions for 859 yards and four touchdowns. While those numbers aren’t astonishing, they’re solid. He was also one of the team’s few bright spots in their Wild Card Game loss to the Green Bay Packers, catching four passes for 62 yards—the second-highest total for any Giants receiver at Lambeau Field that day.
At the moment, the only players in camp who are classified as fullbacks are Jacob Huesman and Shane Smith. Neither one has the NFL experience—or the familiarity with the offense—that Tye does.
While he’s lined up as a tight end for the majority of his career, Tye is athletic enough to handle coming out of the backfield. He’s strong enough to stop opposing defenders from getting to the ball carrier—or Manning behind the line of scrimmage.
Tye has been a nice piece to the puzzle for the Giants. Cutting ties with him because they’ve got too many tight ends is not only unfair to Tye, it just doesn’t make sense.
What does make sense is making Tye the team’s starting fullback, guaranteeing him a spot on that 53-man roster.
