New York Giants rookie tight end Thomas Fidone II has impressed early on at OTAs.
Selected in round seven of the 2025 NFL Draft, Fidone was initially an afterthought to some, but he’s done well to make people show him more attention this spring.
While sharing what they’ve seen so far at OTAs with fans, Giants media members John Schmeelk and Paul Dottino highlighted Fidone on the June 2 edition of the “Big Blue Kickoff Live” podcast. After initially noting that he “made a really nice play” on a crossing route from fellow rookie Jaxson Dart.
What immediately stands out about Fidone? His long, rangy arms.
“For a guy who’s that long and that tall, he’s not gawky, he’s fluid,” Dottino said on the podcast. Reiterating: “He’s absolutely fluid.”
“I’m really starting to like him,” Dottino went on, and the pair acknowledged that he was already a favorite of Schmeelk’s before Giants OTAs.
“He’s probably a little bit more sudden than [starting tight end] Theo Johnson is,” Schmeelk voiced. Although they both concurred that Johnson is much thicker than Fidone, and it’s already been pointed out that the former has put on positive weight this offseason.
Dottino concluded that he’s “intrigued” by the seventh-round pick the more he watches him play.
Giants Rookie Thomas Fidone Could Push Daniel Bellinger for 3rd Tight End Role After Hot Start at OTAs
As Schmeelk and Dottino went back and forth on Fidone, the latter eventually made a statement that could end up being very important later this summer.
“Ironically, even though he’s only a rookie and he’s just coming into the NFL, [Fidone] looks more fluid, for instance, than [Daniel] Bellinger does when he’s out there in the passing game,” Dottino observed, and Schmeelk immediately agreed.
The further along we get in this Giants’ offseason, the more it feels like Bellinger’s back is up against the wall to make the 53-man roster in 2025.
Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen appear to love the potential of Johnson as the unquestioned starter, and they made it a priority to re-sign blocking tight end Chris Manhertz in free agency, too.
Both unseated Bellinger last season, and it doesn’t seem he’s pushing to reclaim a top-two role anytime soon. Quite the opposite, actually, with Fidone emerging.
Bellinger was a fourth-round pick from Schoen’s initial 2022 draft class, which has largely been a flop of a class overall. He showed some promise as a rookie, but an eye injury derailed his progress, and he never really stood out from that point on.
With roster spots at a premium in 2025, it’ll be interesting to see if the Giants keep four tight ends at the 53-man cutdown. If they do, in all likelihood, Bellinger would be up against Denver Broncos cast-off Greg Dulcich and 2025 UDFA Jermaine Terry for that fourth and final spot.
