Tag: Tanner Hudson

Tanner Hudson continues steady breakout for Bengals

Tanner Hudson is on the rise for the Bengals.

Don’t look now, but the Cincinnati Bengals have a mini-breakout going on at the tight end position as the season nears its conclusion.

Tanner Hudson has been a revelation for the team this season after fighting his way onto the 53-man roster and eventually eating up snaps that were previously reserved for names like Irv Smith.

And according to Pro Football Focus, Hudson has been on a tear lately, registering the best grade amongst all tight ends since Week 13 (88.6).

While Hudson only has 33 catches for 298 yards and one score on the season over nine games, the overall grade speaks to his ability in other important areas, such as blocking.

A veteran at the age of 29 years old, it feels like Hudson has found his role as the borderline No. 1 tight end in the offense and will be somebody the team looks to bring back next summer in free agency.

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Watch: Bengals TE Tanner Hudson scores 1st NFL TD vs. Colts

Tanner Hudson puts the Bengals ahead.

The Cincinnati Bengals surged out of halftime during the Week 14 game against the Indianapolis Colts and marched down the field to score, taking a 21-14 lead.

Said score came via a 17-yard strike from quarterback Jake Browning to tight end Tanner Hudson.

Hudson, who wasn’t on the active 53-man roster to start the season, shoved his way onto the roster and gradually surpassed Irv Smith Jr. as the top receiving option at the position.

With Joe Burrow out for the season and Browning in as the starter, the offense has gone his way even more than usual and — at this pace — he’s an option to stick well beyond 2023 as a key piece.

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Bengals make roster move with Tanner Hudson, sign free agent

The Bengals make roster moves.

The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t make any moves at the NFL trade deadline, yet made two notable ones the day after that deadline passed.

Wednesday, the team announced it elevated tight end Tanner Hudson from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and signed free agent linebacker Clay Johnston to the practice squad.

Hudson was a mini-breakout over the summer who has been called up multiple times to the active roster for game days. His role could increase if starter Irv Smith continues to struggle.

Johnston will be a familiar name for fans too, as he’s been a part of the team in the past and played a key role on special teams — never mind a certain key playoff tackle. His addition would seem to hint that Akeem Davis-Gaither could continue to miss time with the injury that has so far derailed his season.

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Sleeper Bengals TE Tanner Hudson gets another look vs. Titans

Tanner Hudson will start in place of Irv Smith Jr. again.

For the second game in a row, the Cincinnati Bengals will elevate tight end Tanner Hudson off the practice squad to the active roster.

Hudson was the main receiving tight end last Monday during the win over the Rams while Irv Smith Jr. was out with an injury. He caught two of his four targets for 30 yards.

With Drew Sample more of a blocking option, it’s safe to expect Hudson to receive a handful of targets again in Tennessee. As of this writing, there’s no ETA on Smith to get back as the top tight end in the offense.

As a practice squad elevation, Hudson will revert back to the practice squad on Monday.

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Giants fall to Seahawks: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to the Seahawks, 27-13, in Week 8 and here’s a look at our winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.

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The New York Giants came into Seattle riding a four-game winning streak and a 6-1 record. The Seahawks were also hot, winning three of their last four and sitting atop the NFC West.

The weight of the winning streak (and their depleted roster) were too much for the Giants to overcome this week as they fell to the Seahawks, 27-13.

Here are some winners, losers and in-betweens from Sunday’s game.

Giants injury report: Kadarius Toney, Kenny Golladay remain sidelined

New York Giants wide receivers Kadarius Toney and Kenny Golladay continue missing practice, while QB Tyrod Taylor returned on Thursday.

The New York Giants practiced indoors on Thursday due to the inclement weather in East Rutherford, and were once again saddled with a lengthy injury list.

On the positive end of the spectrum, quarterback Tyrod Taylor cleared concussion protocol and rejoined his teammates. And despite being limited for the second consecutive day, head coach Brian Daboll said he had no concerns about running back Saquon Barkley handling a full workload in Week 6.

Unfortunately for the Giants, not all news was good news. Wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney continue to be sidelined by injury, and were joined by tight end Tanner Hudson.

The Giants’ Thursday injury report can be found below:

Did not participate: WR Kenny Golladay (knee), CB Cor’Dale Flott (calf), WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring), DB Tony Jefferson (foot), DB Jason Pinnock (ankle), TE Tanner Hudson (illness), DL Jihad Ward (not injury related)

Limited participant: WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), DL Leonard Williams (knee), LB Azeez Ojulari (calf), CB Adoree’ Jackson (knee/neck), RB Saquon Barkley (shoulder), CB Darnay Holmes (quad), TE Chris Myarick (ankle)

Full participant: P Jamie Gillan (not injury related), QB Tyrod Taylor (concussion)

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Darius Slayton, Oshane Ximines were highest-graded Giants in Week 5

Darius Slayton and Oshane Ximines earned the New York Giants’ highest PFF grades in a Week 5 upset of the Green Bay Packers.

The New York Giants rallied on Sunday in London, coming back from two touchdowns down to defeat the Green Bay Packers, 27-22.

With injuries piling up, the team was forced to rely on some unlikely heroes. One of those was wide receiver Darius Slayton, who caught six passes for 79 yards and earned a 89.6 grade from Pro Football Focus, the team’s highest mark of the week.

Just behind Slayton on the offensive side of the ball were left tackle Andrew Thomas (75.3), guard Mark Glowinski (74.5) and running back Saquon Barkley (72.1).

Other notable offensive grades belong to quarterback Daniel Jones (69.8), tight end Daniel Bellinger (67.5) and right tackle Evan Neal (56.4).

The lowest-graded Giants on offense were tight end Tanner Hudson (52.0) and center Jon Feliciano (39.4).

Defensively, edge rusher Oshane Ximines, who recorded the game-sealing sack, led the charge with a grade of 80.6. He was followed by edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux (75.0), linebacker Jaylon Smith (73.3) and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence (70.6).

Other notable defensive grades include safety Julian Love (70.5), cornerback Nick McCloud (61.5) and safety Xavier McKinney (44.7).

The lowest-graded Giants defenders were linebacker Jihad Ward (43.3) and safety Dane Belton (34.1).

The highest-graded special teams player was Cam Brown (91.0).

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Baldy Breakdown: Giants dominated the line of scrimmage ‘all day’

Brian Baldinger says the New York Giants won the line of scrimmage “all day” in Week 4 despite playing modern football without WRs.

The New York Giants defeated the Chicago Bears on Sunday, 20-12, by deploying a a plan that saw them throw the football just 16 times as a team, completing nine.

Only three of those receptions were made by the wide receivers for total of 25 yards. The offensive game plan was to run until the Bears stopped them, which they didn’t.

The Giants’ offensive line, aided by their three tight ends — Daniel Bellinger, Tanner Hudson and Chris Myarick — “won the line of scrimmage all day,” according for former offensive lineman-turned-NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger.

Head coach Brian Daboll was asked if he catered his gameplan to the personnel he had available. Wide receivers Kadarius Toney (hamstring) and Wan’Dale Robinson (knee) were out again and the Giants lost Sterling Shepard for the season to a torn ACL last week.

“No. I’d say we catered it to playing the Bears — what we thought we needed to do,” Daboll said. “I think Kadarius and Wan’Dale are making progress, so we’ll see where those guys are at. And then (David) Sills. I thought that (Darius Slayton) came in and gave us some good reps. And then Richie (James) has been dependable for us.

“So, depending on those other two guys, again the three guys on the practice squad — we brought Marcus (Johnson) up. (Makai) Polk and (Kalil) Pimpleton have done a good job; we’ll continue to work with those guys. So, I think we’ll see more towards the end of the week.”

The Giants may not have any quarterbacks come Sunday when they head across the pond to face the Green Bay Packers. Daniel Jones is dealing with an ankle injury and Tyrod Taylor suffered a concussion and is in the protocol.

“Ty’s in the protocol, and Daniel is feeling a little bit better today. We’ll just see how that goes,” Daboll told reporters on Monday. “We’ll probably work out a few quarterbacks. Whether we sign them or not, I think that’s dependent on some of these guys here.”

No matter what happens with the wide receiver and quarterbacks, the Giants will need to dominate the line of scrimmage and ride with Saquon Barkley again in Week 5.

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Giants have growing trust in Tanner Hudson, tight ends

The New York Giants relied heavily on 13 personnel in Week 4 and have growing trust in Tanner Hudson and the other tight ends.

The New York Giants are short on wide receivers these days and not so confident their offensive line can keep quarterback Daniel Jones safe.

So, what was the solution? Head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka decided to go with three tight ends — aka ’13 personnel’– on over half of their offensive snaps in Week 4.

Daniel Bellinger played on 63 percent of the snaps, Chris Myarick played on 60 percent and Tanner Hudson played on 57 percent.

Myarick, listed as an H-back, or fullback, was not targeted in the passing but Bellinger caught three passes for 23 yards and Hudson had an 18-yard grab. They all chipped in to block for the running game.

“I think those guys have made steady improvements. I think coach (Andy) Bischoff has done a really good job with those guys,” said head coach Brian Daboll.

“They’re smart. They’re tough. They’re dependable. We thought that was a good personnel package to use. I thought they played well this game for the things we asked them to do. Bellinger is young. And Tanner and Myarick don’t have a ton of experience or a ton of production in the league. But these guys have been working their tails off since they’ve been here. I think they’re earning the trust of the coaches to put them out on the field more. And in this game, we happened to use a little bit more multiple tight end sets than the previous couple of weeks. But they earned it. That was part of the plan going into the game relative to deciding what we wanted to do and how we wanted to play. I think that will change every week.”

Hudson made big block downfield that sprung Jones on one of his two touchdown runs on Sunday.

“Well, it helps with DJ being a pretty fast quarterback,” said Hudson. “Just trying to get my leverage, get my hands inside and do my best to get him into the endzone. It did feel like a little bit, but once he got in the endzone it’s all worth it.”

Asked about being such a huge part of the game plan, Hudson was realistic. He knows the Giants can’t run so much 13 personnel against every opponent going forward.

“You just fly with the punches. Whatever they throw at you that week, whether it be in the gameplan or just something that comes up here in the game, you’ve just got to roll with it. We’ve got full trust in Bisch to get us lined up and get us ready for whatever the defense has in store for us,” Hudson said.

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Giants defeat Bears: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants defeated the Chicago Bears, 20-12, on Sunday and here are the winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.

The New York Giants defeated the Chicago Bears, 20-12, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday. The win improved their record to 3-1 for the first time since 2011 under head coach Tom Coughlin.

Here are some winners, losers and in-betweens from the Week 4 game.