Reasons to love the NY Giants’ tight end situation ahead of 2020

TE 2: Levine Toilolo

Following the signing of Levine Toilolo, the NY Giants now have six tight ends on their roster and no reason to spend draft capital to augment this position.Expected to be utilized primarily as a blocker and, more specifically as Rhett Ellison’s replacement, Toilolo finds himself in a unique position to shock everyone with his versatility to also catch and run the football.

In a video chat with John Schmeelk on the Giants YouTube channel, hesitated, “I’m bringing more to the table than people expect.” As a tight end, you can do so many different things on the field and attack the defense in different ways by filling the role of a receiver, blocker, and someone who can spread the offense. Therefore, this is a new opportunity for the 28-year-old with a new offensive coaching staff that includes Garrett and Kitchens.

Aside from Toilolo’s blocking proficiency, his athleticism catching footballs and running routes downfield is something fierce and widely underappreciated. Better yet, he has a reputation of staying healthy, only missing four games in seven seasons (five with the Falcons, one with the Lions and three games with the 49ers).

However, in the likelihood he is used exclusively as a blocker (which should be expected), his dual capability to catch and run with the football could come in useful if that is the direction the offense chooses to go.

The exciting part is that either scenario works for this Giants team. We know how much Jason Garrett loves to run the football (potentially utilizing Levine’s blocking ability), as seen by his use of RB Ezekiel Elliot’s 300+ rushing attempts in each of the last four seasons* (2017 being the exception, as Elliot’s season was cut short due to a conduct-policy suspension that cost him 6 games. He still wound up with 242 attempts).

We’ve also seen Garrett use his tight ends as offensive weapons, thus allowing Levine the opportunity to contribute by catching the ball. Therefore, how he fits alongside a playmaker in Engram and someone who excelled as a receiving threat last year in Kaden Smith (who Toilolo knows from his time in San Francisco) – is still to be explored.

While it’s unlikely he will be used often as an offensive weapon with Engram and Smith on the team, the option to use him in such a capacity on top of utilizing his blocking ability is always there, and if used correctly, could be a valuable weapon for this Giants offense.

After all, having two tight ends lined up on the field worked out last season for division rivals, Philadelphia Eagles, with Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz protecting the run game, opening up the passing game, and even thriving as offensive targets.

Admittedly, the Cowboys haven’t run a lot of dual TE’s in recent years under Jason Garrett, having the benefit of a bonafide Hall of Famer in TE Jason Witten, and a well-balanced run game and receiving corps, but that doesn’t mean the Giants wouldn’t benefit from the plan.

Overall, Toilolo appears ready to learn from his teammates and incorporate parts of his own game in this new and improved TE unit. He is a physical presence and isn’t afraid to be physical and do a lot of the dirty work to support his teammates while playing whistle-to-whistle.
And better yet, he’s excited to call NYC his home. In 2020, he is one to watch.