The New York Giants are getting ready for training camp, along with the rest of the NFC East. This is the first offensive position group in the NFC East Grading series. After the defensive grading, the Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys all finished with 13 points, with Washington finishing with 11 points.
How does it work, you may ask? It’s VERY complicated! The best positional group is assigned four points, and the “worst” receives one point. It is a complex formula, up there with E=MC², but we’ll attempt
to deliver the information in a palatable manner, and I’m sure it will be well received by all fan bases, of course. With that, let’s talk about the tight ends in the NFC East!
Dallas Cowboys
Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Michael Trigg, DJ Rogers, Princeton Fant
I have a lot of respect for Jake Ferguson as a starting tight end, as do the Dallas Cowboys, who signed Ferguson to a four-year, $50-million contract extension. Ferguson is coming off an 81-catch, eight-touchdown season for Dak Prescott in Dallas, but the depth behind Ferguson is suspect. Brevyn Spann-Ford is a quality big-bodied blocker with 18 catches across the last two seasons.
The Cowboys selected Luke Schoonmaker in the second round of the 2023 draft, and he hasn’t exactly earned that high draft capital quite yet, but he does provide solid depth for Dallas. Michael Trigg and DJ Rogers are undrafted free agents who will compete for a roster spot, with the former having many fans in the draft community. Princeton Fant is also on the roster. Still, Dallas is the easy one-pointer despite the talents of Ferguson.
Points: 1
Washington Commanders
Chig Okonkwo, John Bates, Ben Sinnott, Colson Yankoff, Anthony Firkser, Lawrence Cager, Quentin Moore
The Commanders signed Chig Okonkwo to a three-year, $27-million contract to be Jayden Daniels’ number one receiving tight end option in David Blough’s offense. Washington drafted Ben Sinnott in the second round of the 2024 draft, but the former Kansas State star has failed to seize the day in the receiving role. With no more Zach Ertz, Okonkwo will look to be the easy check-down valve for Daniels, with a lot of explosive upside.
Points: 2
New York Giants
Isaiah Likely, Theo Johnson, Chris Manhertz, Thomas Fidone II, Tanner Conner
The New York Giants signed Isaiah Likely to a three-year, $40-million contract that included $26-million guaranteed; he rejoins John Harbaugh in New York, away from the shadow of Mark Andrews, and will now be the tight end one for the Giants. Likely’s ability to extend plays coincides perfectly with how Jaxson Dart played last year, but Likely’s skills should be a perfect fit for the quick game of Matt Nagy’s offense.
Expect to see a lot of 12 personnel with Theo Johnson earning a large percentage of snaps. Johnson is a very good tight end two and a solid starting tight end, who still has a lot of upside. Chris Manhertz gives the Giants veteran leadership and excellent blocking; the 13 personnel package will be loaded with two excellent blockers, and Likely is a solid one. Fidone II showed flashes in training camp and preseason. If something happens to Likely or Johnson, I expect Fidone II to earn snaps in certain personnel packages. The Giants are good at tight end, and could have easily earned four points, but the depth of the Eagles gave Howie Roseman’s crew the edge.
Points: 3
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Goedert, Eli Stowers, Johnny Mundt, Grant Calcaterra, Stone Smartt, Cameron Latu, Dae’Quan Wright, E.J. Jenkins
Dallas Goedert is arguably the best tight end in the division, albeit he is on the wrong side of 30, and both Isaiah Likely and Jake Ferguson may still take that crown from the veteran. Still, Philadelphia invested in the position, adding Eli Stowers out of Vanderbilt and Johnny Mundt, who is an excellent blocking tight end. Grant Calcaterra was their second tight end last year, and these additions add improvement to the roster and should help Sean Mannion’s offense achieve competent heavy personnel packages. Stone Smartt is also a flexible type of tight end who can be used as a fifth guy and a special teamer. It’s close, but the Eagles take it over the Giants.
Points: 4
Final thoughts
I would take the one-two combination of Isaiah Likley and Theo Johnson over Dallas Goedert and Eli Stowers; the three- and four-point grades were very close, but Philadelphia runs about five deep at tight end, with good blockers and overall players, whereas the Giants have three proven players and one with high receiving upside in Fidone II. I could have given Dallas two points over Washington, but the new scenery for Chig Okonkwo could allow the former Maryland product to unlock his athletic potential in David Blough’s offense with Jayden Daniels, and John Bates is a stud blocking tight end. Both the Giants/Eagles and Cowboys/Commanders were close, but the science of this cannot be questioned!
Final tally
Eagles: 17 points
Giants: 16 points
Cowboys: 14 points
Commanders: 13 points
