New York Giants: Making Sense Of Rhett Ellison Signing

We make some sense of the New York Giants signing Rhett Ellison away from the Minnesota Vikings.

The New York Giants have been relatively quiet thus far in free agency. By slapping the franchise tag on Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants used up a big chunk of their available money. The Giants were never expected to make as big of splashes as they did last season, but the franchise tag limited them even further.

As a result, the biggest signing for the Giants thus far has been Brandon Marshall. The Giants landed Marshall on a great deal, as he signed for two-years, $12 million. He brings a lot to like to the Giants offense, as they should benefit greatly from Marshall’s diverse skillset and 6-feet-4 inch frame.

The other addition the Giants made to their offense was signing Rhett Ellison. The Giants and Ellison agreed to a four-year, $18 million deal with $6 million guaranteed. Right off the bat, many people will say, “Who is that, and why did he make so much money?”

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It is fair to question the contract. Ellison spent the first five seasons of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. In those five seasons, he caught only 51 passes, never more than 19 in a single season. He turned that into 515 yards and three touchdowns.

But, the Giants did not sign Ellison for his pass catching abilities. Instead, they brought him on board because of his blocking prowess. The Giants knew they needed to upgrade the run blocking this offseason, specifically at tight end and fullback; that is where Ellison will help the Giants.

Whether it be lined up next to tackle as the tight end, or in the backfield as the fullback, Ellison is ready to contribute no matter what position you want to say he plays.

"“It’s hard,” Ellison said Friday on a conference call. “I guess you can say H-back because that kind of puts tight end and fullback in one thing. A little bit of everything – fullback, tight end, getting split out whatever it is. It’s just knowing the concept and how you fit in it. I don’t really look at it as position. I’m just a moving piece.”"

That type of chess piece was missing from the Giants last season. The Giants went the whole 2016 season without a fullback. Will Johnson, who signed with New York last offseason, was expected to fill the hybrid role. But, he suffered a season-ending injury before the regular season even began. Nikita Whitlock, another fullback option, was also injured, leaving the Giants without one.

As a result, the Giants tried using tight ends as quasi-fullbacks. It would prove to be a disaster. Will Tye and Larry Donnell graded out as the third and fourth worst rated run blocking tight ends in the NFL. While the offensive line had their struggles, tight end and fullback is truly where the Giants were lacking in run blocking.

Ellison graded out No.21 in run blocking for tight ends; it isn’t great, but a huge upgrade over what the Giants had; Tye received a grade of 33.7 and Donnell was 34.4. The best blocking tight end the Giants had was rookie Jerell Adams, who graded out with a run blocking grade of 46.7.

The Giants could also believe that Ellison will take another step forward in 2017. He tore his patellar tendon in the final game of the 2015 season. It is the same injury that contributed to Victor Cruz being sidelined almost two full seasons, but Ellison was able to return in time for the 2016 season, playing in 15 games.

Even if Ellison can only provide the same blocking numbers that he did last season, the Giants will still benefit greatly. With the contracts that were handed out to the upper echelon offensive linemen available this offseason the Giants had to get creative improving their run blocking.

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They have done that with the additions of Ellison and Marshall. If the Giants can find a veteran to round out the offensive line to upgrade the unit as a whole, the Giants will have done well this offseason upgrading their weakness offensively. While the money seems excessive for Ellison, he fills a glaring need in the Giants offense.

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