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What does Jerell Adams, the newest New York Giants tight end, bring to the table? We turned to SB Nation's South Carolina Gamecocks blog, Garnet & Black Attack, to find out. Daniel Sweeney, a contributor for "Garnet & Black" took our questions.
Ed: After he was drafted Adams talked about the South Carolina QB situation impacting his production. Can you explain that?
Daniel: A lot of Gamecock fans took offense to that. I think what Adams was referencing wasn't necessarily the QBs he played with from 2012-2014 (Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson), as both are in the NFL, but rather who was under center during the 2015 campaign.
Last season saw the Game 1 starter Connor Mitch go down with injury, backup Perry Orth take over, followed by true freshman Lorenzo Nunez, followed again by Perry Orth. A revolving door most certainly.
Honestly, I can't really disagree with him. I think another season of catching balls from someone like Thompson or Shaw would've led to an even more impressive stat line from the TE.
Ed: Did you think he would be drafted earlier than he was, and do you see him as a "project" type player or a guy who should be able to make some type of contribution to the offense early on?
Daniel: If anything, I think the Giants got a great value in taking Adams in the sixth round. I saw him going around the fourth or fifth, being believable that someone would reach for him in the third.
I wouldn't expect him to be a Day 1 starter or anything like that, but I could see earning some playing time in 2016. With his combination of size and speed, he has the potential to make an impact on special teams too.
I don't know if Adams falls into exactly one category or the other, but I'd say he's a little of both -- definitely a project to reach his ceiling, which I don't think he ever got the chance to at South Carolina, but enough athletic ability alone to contribute on special teams and snag a couple balls by season's end.
Ed: We see the scouting reports about the type of player he is. What type of person are the Giants getting in Adams?
Daniel: I hate that his comment about the Gamecocks' quarterback situation made him look like he's not a team player. I don't remember Adams causing any scenes or making any stink about who was under center or anything like that during his time in Columbia.
He definitely took some hard shots from SEC safeties over the years and had a soul-crushing fumble against Tennessee this year, but continued to play hard. He showed class, maturity and perspective with his post-game comments in Knoxville, following the fumble.
He played on two of the best teams ever at South Carolina in 2012 and 2013 - and the fact that a guy with NFL potential hung around after a disappointing 7-6 2014 to then go 3-9 in 2015 makes him a good guy in my book.
Ed: Think back on his time at South Carolina. What is it you might remember most about him? A single play or game? Something else?
Daniel: Some may say the above gaffe against Tennessee, but personally, he made a HUGE grab on the road at Death Valley against LSU in 2012 that really put us in position to pull off the upset. Seeing a true freshman make a snag like that...on the road...across the middle, made me really, really excited about his future.Had Adams been in Columbia from, let's say, 2010-2013, I think his statistics would've been much improved. He was stuck behind two other NFL tight ends from 2012-2014 in Justice Cunningham and Rory Anderson, but stuck it out all four year. Count me as an Adams fan.
Ed: Finish this sentence. Five years from now Jerell Adams will be ....?
Daniel: This is tough to say. If he's put in the right situation that nurtures his growth as a player, I think he could really develop into a No. 1 TE in the NFL. What comes to mind for me in Martellus Bennett's resurgence with, ironically enough, the Giants in 2012. I think that's a pretty fair comparison for Adams in five years.