TE Kyle Rudolph: The Good, the Great, and the Ugly

Nick Falato breaks down the tape of tight end Kyle Rudolph and how he could potentially fit into the Giants offense.

The traditional “Y” tight end is a pivotal part of Jason Garrett’s offense. Garrett assisted the great Jason Witten to an eventual, more than likely, hall of fame bid thanks in part to Garrett’s play design and play calling - he loves the Y-Stick option.

Sadly, despite his talents, Evan Engram couldn’t have consistent success operating in that role; yes, I know he made a Pro Bowl, but that’s not how Engram can be maximized.

Engram displayed struggles with his ability to quickly halt his route and turn back towards the quarterback to locate the football and make tough catches.

He seemed to struggle with concentration; using Engram vertically, horizontally, or just on the move in any capacity seems to be a more efficient use of the 2017 first-round selection. Throughout the season, Engram was more of a liability in Garrett’s tight end role than a high support player.

The evidence prompted the Giants to react once the Minnesota Vikings released tight end Kyle Rudolph after refusing to take a pay cut. Rudolph was then added to the Giants shortly after his release, and his style of playstyle seems to mesh well with Garrett's demands of his tight ends.

Rudolph is coming off a more modest season than he’s typically accustomed to having with the Vikings, a 28-catch, 334-yard season with only one touchdown.

He had seven touchdowns in 2019. He was never a tight end to dominate touches within the offense--that’s not Minnesota’s way of executing their game plan. Still, he has been a reliable fourth option behind Stefon Diggs (no longer there), Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook for quite some time.

The writing might have been on the wall for Rudolph when the Vikings selected Irv Smith out of Alabama in the second round in 2019. They also have Tyler Conklin on their roster, so they saw Rudolph as expendable at his $9 million annual price tag. He signed an extension with the Vikings back in 2019.

In his career, Rudolph has amassed 4,642 receiving yards on 469 catches with 50 touchdowns. He’s a two-time Pro Bowl selection, back in 2012 and in 2017. Rudolph has also played more than 400 snaps every year of his career. Unfortunately, he suffered a foot injury late in the 2020 season that landed him on IR. 

So let’s get right into this edition of the Good, the Great, and the Ugly.

(Kyle Rudolph is No. 82)

The Good: Can Run Block

Vance Joseph, the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, dominated the Giants in the trenches because of the way they employed their 7-techniques. A 7-technique is a player aligned on the inside shoulder of the tight end.

When a defense deploys a 7-technique and a 4-technique (over the tackle), it creates one-on-one blocks with a defensive lineman isolated against a tight end.

Evan Engram has developed solidly regarding his run blocking, but it’s still not at the level necessary to be an impactful blocker. Levine Toilolo found himself on the deck far too often in 2020, and Kaden Smith has become a solid blocking option used frequently as a lead blocker on counter plays.

Here we see Rudolph controlling the point of attack against a 6-technique crashing inside who, upon contact, essentially ends up on the same path as a 7-technique.

Rudolph is on the right side of the screen, and he sinks his center of gravity to explode through his hips and wash the tight end down the line of scrimmage while finishing with authority.

The Giants run a lot of power/gap concepts--at least they did in 2020. For reference, Wayne Gallman had 96 gap rushes and only 50 zone rushes, and Devonta Freeman had 38 gap and 16 zone rushes.

The play above is technically a zone-rushing play, but Rudolph is tasked to seal the edge because the defender slants inside. He steps to the play side, quickly turns his shoulders back inside to get his hips angled on the target, and then he just steps to the correct positioning to not allow the defender to undercut his block.

Rudolph is the inside tight end to the right side of the line of scrimmage; it’s a power/gap run, and Rudolph has to block down on the 6-technique again. He gets one hand towards the midline of the defender while getting low and the other near his outside shoulder pad.

He positions and uses torque to help seal the edge and allow the back-side guard to swing around, which resulted in Cook's touchdown run.

The play is significant because it’s not just any power/gap run, but the same counter-trey type of run where the back-side guard pulls to kick out the unblocked end man on the line of scrimmage while the H-Back leads into the hole. 

That tight end block is pivotal against the defensive line, especially if it’s a 5-technique plus. Rudolph throws the block and clears the path for a big run.

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MORE "GOOD, GREAT & UGLY" BREAKDOWNS

WR Kelvin Benjamin | RB Devontae Booker | RB Corey Clement | OLB Lorenzo Carter | CB Isaac Yiadom | TE Kaden Smith | WR Kenny Golladay | TE Levine Toilolo | Edge Ifeadi Odenigbo | DT Danny Shelton | OL Zach Fulton | CB Adoree' Jackson | TE Evan Engram | S Jabrill Peppers | S Xavier McKinney | ILB Reggie Ragland | WR John Ross

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Rudolph is an intelligent football player who knows how to get open in a subtle manner. He knows how to get open against zone coverages while also doing a good job creating separation with very effective, but not so noticed, push-offs vs. man.

He has some of the better hands I’ve seen from a tight end - he has one drop in the last three seasons (with 137 catches in that time frame). He does a phenomenal job using his impressive catch radius to high-point balls and is able to secure them.

He uses his body well at the catch point and is very good in contested catch situations. He’s a solid overall athlete for a tight end, but not one that is an athletic mismatch. He wins with size and physicality a bit more, but he also has very soft hands.

This happens to be a very savvy route where Rudolph understands the coverage, knows when to bend his route inside, and uses his impressive catch radius to provide a cushion for Kirk Cousins to deliver the football high and away from defenders.

He shows good spatial awareness up the seam and some flexibility as he turns around the linebacker and breaks inside just before the safety--understanding where and when to be in a certain area is vital for the quarterback.

Rudolph is a soft-handed player who can snag the football out of the air. Rudolph climbs the ladder here and secures a Hail Mary over the top of defenders.

Rudolph combines size, concentration, tracking ability, a sure-handed nature, and solid route running ability to maximize his overall skill-set and present a competent target for his quarterbacks.

Daniel Jones loved one-on-one throws in 2019 under Pat Shurmur, and he’s going to love those isolation pass opportunities to Rudolph.

Like a New York Giant who is no longer with the team, Rudolph has some single-hand catchability as well, while also being a competent red-zone threat. It’s a testament to his concentration and tracking ability. The sure-handed nature of Rudolph is going to be a welcome sight for Giants fans.

This is a simple and common tight end route - a stick and nod route which should become prevalent in Garrett’s system with the coordinator’s propensity to call stick routes.

Rudolph runs the route very well. He sells the outside break, opening up the middle of the field for him to make the easy touchdown catch.

This is another one-handed catch by Rudolph, who does a great job getting through traffic and crossing the face of the field while the Vikings run the play fake on the goal line.

Rudolph sees the zone defender dropping to eliminate the cross. He understands to allow the defender to close width before using his hands to create a bit of separation and work over the top of the traffic.

He keeps his feet in bounds, concentrates, and then secures the one-handed touchdown grab.

Rudolph does well in contested catch isolated situations, and this is the famous, controversial, “push off” play that helped the Vikings beat the Saints in the 2019 Wildcard round.

It was a somewhat subtle push-off by Rudolph, but he gets up the fade and fights through the defender’s contact before high-pointing the ball and securing the playoff win for the Vikings. I love to see those strong hands secure this pass in a high-leverage situation.

Here he’s at the bottom of the screen. The receiving compliments I heap on Rudolph aren’t just because of his big catch radius and soft hands - he also does a good job running routes in the short-intermediate parts of the field.

This is another kind of one-handed catch on a pivot double move where Rudolph sets up the defender to fail with an excellent break at the top of his route.

He explodes off his outside foot back inside, creating a natural rub that assists in separation, and then he quickly turns to find the ball in the air; he puts a hand up and grasps the ball for a touchdown.

Rudolph isn’t overly dynamic with his athletic ability, but he can move around for a 6’6 265-pound tight end. However, Rudolph looks like he should be an upgrade over Engram (and any other tight end from the Giants’ 2020 roster) because of his understanding of how to run routes, his soft hands, his ability to track, his long catch radius, and his blocking ability.

Rudolph needs to be healthy and available to live up to the expected role. 

The Ugly: Foot Injury

As I just wrote, he’s not a dynamic athlete like Evan Engram, and some may knock him for that. Still, the more significant, more pertinent aspect of Kyle Rudolph to be concerned about is the foot injury that required surgery at the beginning of April. 

He suffered the injury late last season, and it landed Rudolph on Injured Reserve; when the Giants discussed signing him, it was before his physical with the team. His physical revealed that his foot didn’t heal as hoped, but the Giants lived up to their word and signed Rudolph anyway.

He seems to be recovering nicely, but I still have caution just because foot injuries, especially ones that are Lisfranc injuries, can take a while to recover, and relapses can occur. Both Dez Bryant and Sammy Watkins suffered Lisfranc injuries that were re-injured. 

The fact that Rudolph was on the field catching passes in early June is a positive sign for the Giants, but we have to see how ready he is by training camp and, hopefully, by week one of the regular season. 

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