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The New York Giants have made some surprising moves in free agency the past two weeks and one of the more unexpected ones was the signing of tight end Kyle Rudolph, who spent his first 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Giants brought Rudolph in because of what he can do to help third-year quarterback Daniel Jones. Rudolph is not only an excellent short-yardage and red-zone option, but a top blocker as well.
Rudolph appeared on the “Pat McAfee Show” this week and spoke about Jones and the possibilities of him becoming a top NFL quarterback.
“First of all, I didn’t realize how young he was,” Rudolph said of Jones. “He’s only 23 years old and I just assumed he was a four- or five-year guy at Duke and obviously he’s been in the league going on his third year.
“We (the Vikings) went up two years ago and played the Giants and I remember watching him in that game and some of the throws that he made. I remember talking to some of our defensive guys like Everson Griffin and Harrison Smith. They were like, ‘Dude, this quarterback’s got some juice to him.’
“He’s a stud and then you watch him over the last two years and — you said it — he’s got all the intangibles to be an Andrew Luck-type quarterback. Hopefully we put a bunch of pieces around him and we can take some of the pressure off of him, let him just go out there and play with confidence and let all those attributes and abilities take over.”
Rudolph said he has yet to talk to running back Saquon Barkley but mentioned that he could be blocking for three Hall of Fame running backs in a row after having played with Adrian Peterson and Dalvin Cook in Minnesota, and now with Barkley in New York.
Rudolph also stated that his blocking has gotten better over time. That is another reason the Giants signed him. They want extra protection for Jones and a player who can seal off the edge for the running game.
“I had to get down and dirty,” he joked. “I’ was just used to running around catching balls but that wasn’t the case the last couple of years in Minnesota.”
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