The retirement of Darren Waller has left a lot of opportunity for the other players in the New York Giants tight end room, most specifically Daniel Bellinger, who is entering his third season in blue.
The Giants anticipated Waller’s decision to retire this offseason, signing veterans Chris Manhertz and Jack Stoll, and then adding Penn State standout Theo Johnson in the draft.
In a recent interview with Jordan Raanan of ESPN, Bellinger spoke about what he is concentrating on this summer at camp
Bellinger also spoke about his time at the Tight End University, which was founded by All-Pro NFL tight ends George Kittle, Travis Kelce, and Greg Olsen in 2021.
The event was held June 17-19 in Nashville and hosted everyone who is anyone playing the position at a high level these days.
“This is my third year going,” said Bellinger. “It’s definitely growing for sure.”
Bellinger said the first night consisted of a group session of around 30 players where each player divulged their experiences from the previous season.
“You get perspective from every other guy and every other team around the league,” he said. “The first thing you take away was ‘how was the season for everybody else?’ and compare it to your season and go from there.
“After that, you get to the classroom and the field and get to listen to George about how much he loves blocking. It’s a good time with guys who have done it for a long time and picking their brains about football.
“One of the most important things I took was from Greg Olsen. He was like, ‘Everybody’s past is different. Everyone has different quarterbacks, offenses, situations…it doesn’t matter where you are right now as long as you keep getting better, keep chipping away you can reach the goals you want to reach.’
“He talks about how he wasn’t a Pro Bowler until his eighth or ninth season. It wasn’t that he wasn’t a Pro Bowl tight end, it’s just that he needed to keep working at his craft to get to that level. Those words of wisdom are what I’ll take away the most of.”
Bellinger said he will be going back to Nashville this summer to work more with Kittle. Raanan asked him about the legendary workout compound Kittle had created in Tennessee.
“He’s fortunate enough to have built his own property and little field and gym there, so he’s a big advocate of getting guys together, getting better together. I’m going to get back together with him and get some good work in Nashville. Nice and humid and hot,” Bellinger said.
“He’s built this nice barn with a weight room in there. It’s got three stories with a bunch of recovery stuff upstairs and a college-like gym on the bottom with a 50-yard field outside.”
Whatever the workout regimen is at Kittle’s compound, it’s worked for Bellinger, who has become more and more physically imposing with each season.
Last year, Bellinger was the blocking end. This year, we could see more offense from him as the Giants sort out their tight end room. Ironically, Bellinger is just six months older than the rookie, Johnson, but already has the jump on him with two years of pro experience under his belt.
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