New York Giants’ tight end Garrett Dickerson still trying to establish himself

Garrett Dickerson has been a member of the New York Giants for two seasons. That, though, is really all he has been. A guy on the roster — at times. Can he hang on to that roster spot in 2020? Can he become more than an afterthought?

Let’s take a closer look.

The basics

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 248
Age: 24
Experience: 2
Position: Tight end
Contract: One-year, $750,000 deal

How he got here

Out of Northwestern, Dickerson originally came to the Giants as an undrafted free agent. He has been on and off the roster for the past two seasons, bouncing from practice squad to the 53-man roster and back again. He has appeared in eight games, playing 24 offensive snaps and not catching a single pass.

In other words, Dickerson has been just a guy filling a roster spot when the Giants had a need.

2020 outlook

Can Dickerson ever be more than a bit player? He caught 88 passes at Northwestern, including 38 in his senior season. So, he does have pass-catching ability.

Back in 2018, this is what Caleb Friedman of SB Nation’s Northwestern website, Inside NU, told us about Dickerson:

“Dickerson is a great blocker, and probably wasn’t involved in Northwestern’s offense enough as a receiver. While Dickerson was still productive in certain games, the superback position (as it’s called at NU) isn’t a weekly part of the game plan. He has good, but not great size for the position. He isn’t really much of a deep threat up the seam, but he has reliable hands and does a good job finding open pockets in the middle of the field, especially on third and fourth downs. I can’t emphasize his blocking enough; that’s something most casual viewers won’t notice, but it really helped allow Northwestern to run the effectively the past several seasons.”

Dickerson faces a tough task in his effort to establish himself in Year 3 with a new coaching staff. Evan Engram, Kaden Smith, and veteran free-agent signee Levine Toilolo are the top three tight ends. The Giants also brought back veteran blocking tight end Eric Tomlinson, who spent part of last season with the team, and has two intriguing undrafted tight ends in Kyle Markway and Rysen John.