New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger has been rarely used this season. However, with the season-ending injury to rookie Theo Johnson, Bellinger has gotten an increased opportunity in recent weeks and has made the most of it.
Giants’ Daniel Bellinger is seeing more playing time of late
After lining up in just 46 total passing play snaps in the first nine games of the season, Bellinger has appeared in 101 passing snaps in just the last three games. He has taken over as the TE1 on the depth chart following Johnson’s injury and has once again become a reliable receiving target.
In Week 14 against the Saints, Bellinger caught all five of his targets for 45 yards and caught all three of his targets for 35 yards the following week against the Ravens. Prior to that, he had caught just three passes all season on as many targets, good for 31 total yards.
Bellinger has been rarely used by the Giants since his rookie season
In 2022, Bellinger had quickly grown into a steady receiving option until an eye injury forced him to miss some time. He returned in time for the playoffs and caught a touchdown pass in the Giants’ Wild Card win over the Vikings.
In that rookie season, he hauled in 30 of his 33 targets and logged 269 yards and two touchdowns. His production declined after the team acquired Darren Waller in that offseason, as he only had 25 receptions despite playing in 381 passing snaps. 22.6% of his snaps last season came as a pass blocker.
After Waller retired following the 2023 season, Bellinger was anticipated to see increased playing time, but the rookie Johnson quickly took over as the team’s main tight end. With only three games left in the season, Bellinger doesn’t have a lot of available time to showcase his skillset.
However, if he puts in a few strong performances the rest of the way, he could become an important piece of the team’s future. They will hopefully have a better quarterback situation next season, which could help Bellinger have a greater impact on the team’s offense.
