The Giants are signing Kyle Rudolph, and they’re doing so despite him needing a foot surgery that will sideline him for a few months. Per reports, it’s a two-year deal worth about $12 million.
When Rudolph was leaving Minnesota, he talked about wanting to go to a team where he’d be able to catch more passes. I don’t think that will happen with the Giants. They used a first-round pick on Evan Engram a few years back, and I expect he’ll remain their primary pass catcher at the position. Engram had an off year last season (low-lighted by a late drop that was pivotal in a Thursday night loss at Philadelphia), but he’s shown some chops as a pass catcher. He put up top-7 PPR numbers (per game) in each of his first three seasons.
Rudolph presumably will be an insurance policy while also rotating in and playing in sets with two tight ends. I suppose he’ll catch a few balls (he’s always been good around the goal line), but I don’t see him being a big pass-catching part of that offense. The Giants will have a below-average passing game, and they’ve got plenty of other pass-catching weapons. Rudolph is 31, and no longer has the mobility to be much of a downfield weapon; he’s starting to turn into another Jason Witten.
I still firmly believe Engram is the tight end in this offense, and a possible top-10 guy at the position. Nonetheless, I also notice that Rudolph recently has been catching a lot more of the passes thrown his way. Below see the 31 tight ends who’ve seen at least 80 targets in the last two years. Of that group, Rudolph has a caught league-high 79 percent of the passes thrown his way. Engram is just over 60 percent – more than only three other tight ends.
All catches aren’t created equal, of course. Rudolph in those targets may have seen more short easy catches around the line of scrimmage, while Engram has been operating more like a wide receiver, with more contested downfield catches. But both tight ends over the last two years have averaged 10.5 yards per catch.
Nonetheless, Engram will be a top-15 tight end on my board, why I don’t view Rudolph as a player who should even be drafted.
| TIGHT END CATCH RATES (last 2 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Pct |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 85 | 67 | 701 | 10.5 | 7 | 78.8% |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 170 | 133 | 1,687 | 12.7 | 7 | 78.2% |
| Jason Witten, Dal.-L.V. | 100 | 76 | 598 | 7.9 | 6 | 76.0% |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 149 | 113 | 1,255 | 11.1 | 8 | 75.8% |
| Darren Waller, L.V. | 262 | 197 | 2,341 | 11.9 | 12 | 75.2% |
| Irv Smith, Min. | 90 | 66 | 676 | 10.2 | 7 | 73.3% |
| Austin Hooper, Atl.-Cle. | 167 | 121 | 1,222 | 10.1 | 10 | 72.5% |
| Cameron Brate, T.B. | 89 | 64 | 593 | 9.3 | 6 | 71.9% |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 281 | 202 | 2,645 | 13.1 | 16 | 71.9% |
| Dalton Schultz, Dall. | 91 | 64 | 621 | 9.7 | 4 | 70.3% |
| Jordan Akins, Hou. | 104 | 73 | 821 | 11.2 | 3 | 70.2% |
| Jonnu Smith, Ten. | 109 | 76 | 887 | 11.7 | 11 | 69.7% |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 152 | 104 | 1,131 | 10.9 | 8 | 68.4% |
| Hunter Henry, LAC | 169 | 115 | 1,265 | 11.0 | 9 | 68.0% |
| Hayden Hurst, Bal.-Atl. | 127 | 86 | 920 | 10.7 | 8 | 67.7% |
| Jacob Hollister, Sea. | 99 | 66 | 558 | 8.5 | 6 | 66.7% |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 186 | 122 | 1,553 | 12.7 | 17 | 65.6% |
| Jimmy Graham, G.B.-Chi. | 136 | 88 | 903 | 10.3 | 11 | 64.7% |
| Tyler Eifert, Cin.-Jac. | 123 | 79 | 785 | 9.9 | 5 | 64.2% |
| Noah Fant, Den. | 159 | 102 | 1,235 | 12.1 | 6 | 64.2% |
| Jared Cook, N.O. | 125 | 80 | 1,209 | 15.1 | 16 | 64.0% |
| Gerald Everett, LAR | 122 | 78 | 825 | 10.6 | 3 | 63.9% |
| Greg Olsen, Car.-Sea. | 119 | 76 | 836 | 11.0 | 3 | 63.9% |
| Logan Thomas, Det.-Was. | 138 | 88 | 843 | 9.6 | 7 | 63.8% |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 105 | 66 | 699 | 10.6 | 7 | 62.9% |
| T.J. Hockenson, Det. | 160 | 99 | 1,090 | 11.0 | 8 | 61.9% |
| Eric Ebron, Ind.-Pit. | 143 | 87 | 933 | 10.7 | 8 | 60.8% |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 177 | 107 | 1,121 | 10.5 | 4 | 60.5% |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 207 | 124 | 1,251 | 10.1 | 7 | 59.9% |
| Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 174 | 104 | 1,273 | 12.2 | 11 | 59.8% |
| Dawson Knox, Buff. | 94 | 52 | 676 | 13.0 | 5 | 55.3% |
—Ian Allan