The New York Giants signed Geno Smith, arguably the most hated football player in the tri-state area, as well as Rhett Ellison.
Ellison, a backup tight end, signed for four-year, $18 million. At first glance, this may seem like two of the more terrible offseason moves, but in reality, Big Blue may have hit the jackpot. Now, before any Giants’ fans reading this article come running with torches and pitchforks, let me explain.
Must Read: New York Giants: Geno Smith Eager To Learn From Eli Manning
There are two major factors that can be assessed when discussing how “good” a free agency pickup is. First, and most importantly, does this free agent fill a need on the team? Secondly, did we overpay to get this player on the team?
Let’s go through this process step by step for Smith and Ellison. This will determine how good each signing actually was.
Geno Smith
I’m going to start this out with a little bit of honesty. I never really liked Geno Smith. I never thought he was a good player, and I certainly never believed he would be a true starter in the NFL. That being said, I absolutely love this pick up
What people seem to forget when talking about this pickup is that Smith is not going to be our starting quarterback. Immediately after the signing, people were blowing up on social media and the internet, shouting about how the Giants were stupid to be signing such a bad quarterback.
Let me ask you this though: is he better than Josh Johnson? Because he was the only other QB on the roster besides Eli Manning. We desperately needed a backup quarterback in case the unspeakable happens. We managed to get one with both starting experience and with experience playing in Metlife Stadium. Sounds like a win to me.
Oh, and let’s not forget that Big Blue only paid $300,000 for him. That’s not a freaking typo. We gave him $100,000 guaranteed with a $200,000 roster bonus.
I imagine the conversation between Jerry Reese and Smith’s agent went something like this:
"Jerry Reese: “Mr. Agent, we want to sign Geno Smith, but I am only willing to pay you whatever petty cash I have in my pocket right now.”Mr. Agent: “DEAL. I don’t care if it’s just quarters and pocket lint, just please sign him!”"
Okay, maybe that’s a bit drastic, but I did hear a rumor that Smith’s signing bonus was a half-eaten candy bar and some used tissues.
The point is, the G-Men got a former starting quarterback for a damn good bargain and should be happy to have him.
For reference, Mark Sanchez, former butt-fumbler for the New York Jets, was signed as a backup QB for the Bears for $1,000,000 guaranteed, and Mike Glennon, career backup QB, was signed by the Bears as a starter for a jaw-dropping $18.5 million guaranteed. His career record is 5-13. I’d rather take Geno.
Rhett Ellison
Rhett Ellison is a tight end coming over from the Minnesota Vikings. While his position reads tight end, his primary task on the Vikings was to supply run support as a fullback, and he did a fine job of it.
The Giants currently have Will Tye, Jerell Adams, and will likely be drafting a tight end in the draft. These will be our primary pass catchers. It is highly unlikely that Ellison will ever lineup as a tight end and run a route, so why should we evaluate him as such? Instead, I will be discussing him as a run-blocker and a fullback.
First, did signing Ellison as a run-blocker/fullback fill a team need? This really needs no analysis. Obviously this fills a need. The Giants didn’t even have a fullback on the roster in 2016, and our running game was ranked 29th in the NFL.
So let’s look at what’s been getting everyone’s panties in a bunch: did we overpay for Ellison? If you are looking at him as a backup tight end, then yes, we drastically overpaid for him. However, as a fullback, it is on par with the league for a price point.
Kyle Juszczyk, newly signed fullback for the 49ers, is getting paid $21 million for four years, marginally higher than the $18 million for four years that the G-Men paid Ellison. The difference is that Ellison is a more versatile player than Juszczyk.
Related Story: New York Giants: Rhett Ellison’s Father Dishes On Vikings Dysfunction
Ellison can line up at the line of scrimmage next to the big men and should be able to hold his own. With him on our team, the offense is able to run jumbo sets that we’ve never had the opportunity to do in the McAdoo era. It’s basically like having another guard on the team.
Not like this is an overly appropriate comparison, but let’s briefly talk about how much the two highest paid guards got signed for this offseason. Joel Bitonio of the Browns got a six-year deal worth $51 million, and Kevin Zeitler of the Browns got five years for $60 million.
That’s an awful lot of money spent on guys who are mainly run blockers. If you ask me, I’d rather just get a backup tight end for a third of the cost who can do basically the same job.
What do you think Giants’ faithful? Do these signings seem smarter to you now, or do you still hate them?