Rhett Ellison Believes He Can Help Giants’ Running Game

The New York Giants signed Rhett Ellison this offseason to four-year/, $18 million deal with $8 million guaranteed. With the money comes a lot of expectations for Ellison, known as one of the best run blocking tight ends in football. The Giants are going to need Ellison to be a heavy presence in the run game this season.

“It feels good,” said Ellison, who missed spring workouts with a calf injury. “It’s definitely great being back out there. Spring was a lot of mental reps, but you can’t really get the rep until you physically do it, so it’s good to be back out there.”

Here are some takeaways from Ellison’s time with the media.

On run-blocking from fullback ...

“Pretty comfortable,” Ellison said. “A lot of what I did my last couple years in college was that. Actually, my senior year in college I was strictly a fullback. Rookie year (I) did a lot of that as well. So, that’s just kind of part of the tight end position. You have to know both, in line and in the backfield.”

On improving the running game ...

“Yeah,” Ellison said. “They want versatile guys, and I don’t think it’s just in the tight end room. They want guys that can move around all over the place. Just so you’re not stuck with a vanilla offense, you can change it up. Adding guys that can be versatile is going to help you with that.”

On adjusting to the Giants’ offense ...

“It’s similar and different,” Ellison said. “I’d say the tempo is the biggest difference. The no huddle type stuff and just the pace of everything. The tight end position is the tight end position, there’s nothing that different wherever you go. I’d say the tempo is different, but playing tight end is playing tight end.”

Where he thinks he can contribute the most ...

“That’s a question for (Ben) McAdoo,” Ellison said. “He’s the one that’s going to schematically put me where he wants to put me. So, my job is just to do what he tells me to do.