New York Giants tight end Rhett Ellison shares his secrets to how he has the fewest drops on Big Blue in the last two seasons.
Over the last two seasons for the New York Giants, tight end Rhett Ellison has been a versatile backup. While Evan Engram is more of a receiving tight end and Scott Simonson more of a blocker, Ellison can do much of both.
In his two seasons with the Giants, Ellison has 49 receptions on 66 targets for 507 yards and three touchdowns. One of the more underrated stats for Ellison, however, is that he only has three registered drops. This is the fewest on the Giants over the span of time.
Ellison has such reliable hands even for a tight end. This week, he took the opportunity to share his secrets for maintaining those hands with Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com.
“One thing is I’ll never catch from a jugs machine because I don’t think it’s the same as catching it from a hand,” Ellison said. “Even if it’s someone who doesn’t throw the ball for a living, like my wife. Just seeing it from a hand, I’d rather do that. I think the rhythm of the jug can train your eye the wrong way.”
It’s actually very beneficial that Ellison is included in a lot of plays in which he has to run-block. Unlike a receiver, Ellison doesn’t have to spend all his time working on catching the ball. This actually helps in a sense that Ellison doesn’t pay too much attention to his receiving qualities, therefore he doesn’t overthink it as some receivers do.
Ellison takes it upon himself to focus more on the blocking aspect while having the receiving part of the position come naturally to him.
“Catching the ball, I think some guys put a little too much emphasis on it,” he said. “I put more of the focus on the blocking so the catch is more of a reward. Like, ‘Oh, I get a ball coming my way? This is great.’ React like a dog in the park.”
Ellison will be looking to retain the same role in the offense as he did last year. The Giants have brought him, Engram and Simonson back this year. Big Blue also has second-year tight end Garrett Dickerson on the roster along with rookie C.J. Conrad.
