Last offseason when the NY Giants brought in tight end Kyle Rudolph on a nice one-year contract, many fans figured he’d be a reliable security blanket for quarterback Daniel Jones, who badly needed a bounce-back season after a nightmarish 2020.
Instead, the Giants got the worst production in the 32-year-old’s 11-year career despite the fact he appeared in 16 out of the team’s 17 games.
Rudolph logged 26 catches for 257 yards and one touchdown — all of which were career lows in seasons where he’s played 16 or more games. His one touchdown catch and 26 receptions were career lows regardless of games played, and his 257 receiving yards was just eight off his low mark of 249 (his rookie season where he appeared in 15 games and only made eight starts).
Blame the offensive playcalling, blame the chaotic setting created by head coach Joe Judge, blame the pitiful offensive line. It’s all valid. But getting that little out of Rudolph with fellow tight end Evan Engram flailing once again was a colossal disappointment. He also couldn’t block! Made no sense.
Even worse? Giants fans are going to be furious when they see him producing at a much higher level when he catching passes from Tom Brady after signing a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
We gave Kyle Rudolph the main photo and first entry a month ago when we wrote about potential Bucs signings after Rob Gronkowski's retirement: https://t.co/PafuG6In41 pic.twitter.com/QMHpd0ETfB
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 21, 2022
Just wait, Giants fans, for Kyle Rudolph to put up numbers with the Buccaneers
The fact that Bucs writers were already queuing up Rudolph as a potential option to succeed alongside Brady the moment Gronk retired says it all.
Rudolph, who spent a decade with the Minnesota Vikings, might not have been one of the most prolific tight ends of his generation, but he was typically a notable red-zone threat and massive target (6-foot-6, 265 pounds) that helped bail out his quarterback when under pressure of having to make tight throws.
His size and skill did nothing to help Jones, but now we can surely expect Brady to help Rudolph make history as one of the best touchdown-scoring tight ends in NFL history.
Kyle Rudolph needs 5 receiving TDs to enter the Top 10 of all time by a TE. He's currently ranked 14th (49 TDs) among TEs in NFL history.
— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) July 21, 2022
Don’t believe us? Let’s look at a brief history of Brady making mediocre/unproven/aging tight ends actual contributors or impact players:
- Daniel Graham in 2004 – 30 catches, 364 yards, 7 touchdowns
- Ben Watson in 2005 – 29 catches, 441 yards, 4 touchdowns
- Ben Watson in 2006 – 49 catches, 643 yards, 3 touchdowns
- Then he made Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski two of the best tight end talents ever
- Martellus Bennett in 2016 – 55 catches, 701 yards, 7 touchdowns
- Cameron Brate in 2021 – 30 catches, 245 yards, 4 touchdowns
Just for your notes, Brate was the second option in Tampa last year behind Gronk and put up those numbers. Now, Rudolph will be the second option behind Brate in 2022.
Simply preparing you for what’s to come, that’s all.
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