Recently there have been rumors that the Giants are shopping tight end Jeremy Shockey for a first round draft pick. A few teams have even offered second draft picks for his services. However, NYG GM Jerry Reese has repeatedly stated to the media that Shockey is going to be our starting tight end this season. And, personally, I don't think it makes a bit of sense to get rid of him right now.
Shockey was draft in the first round of the 2002 draft to be a dynamic pass catching tight end. In his 6 years with the Giants, he has started 83 of the possible 96 games. For the first few years, he was the dynamic player that the Giants hoped he would be despite missing time with injuries and dropping big passes from time to time. When Tom Coughlin took over as head coach, he needed a better blocking TE to run his style of offense.
And Shockey has become just that. He is arguably the best blocking tight end in football, absolutely mauling defensive players in the running game. He has also maintained his status as a top 10 receiving tight end and plays with an intensity that is tough to match. This combination is what makes him, in my opinion, the most valuable tight end in the NFL right now.
So why would there be so many trade rumors flying around if he is so valuable? The answer is Kevin Boss. Boss was the Giants 5th round draft pick last year and filled in wonderfully at the end of the season after Shockey went down with a broken fibula. The offense actually seemed to get better and many of the NFL "experts" attribute that to the absence of Jeremy Shockey.
However, in reality Kevin Boss played well enough to command respect in the passing game while rookie RB Ahmad Bradshaw had his breakout game in Buffalo. Bradshaw busted out the longest run of the 2007 NFL season and established himself as a real weapon. In my opinion, Bradshaw had way more to do with the increase of offensive production than either Shockey or Boss.
But not so fast. Just because Reese doesn't want to get rid of Shockey right now, doesn't mean it won't happen sometime down the line. If Boss continues on his current steady pace of improvement, it could spell trouble for Shockey in a few years. Cutting or trading Shockey this year would actually cost the Giants $1.1 million more than it would to keep him on the team. That alone, should be enough to convince any fan that he's not going anywhere just yet.
Shockey is under contract through the 2011 season. Each year, the money that the Giants would save by cutting or trading Shockey increases; going from just over $2 million next year to over $5 million after the 2010 season. That also happens to be the year the Kevin Boss's rookie contract ends. Which means that is when Reese needs to make a decision about who stays and who goes.
Admittedly, it's possible that Boss never drastically improves and stays at the mediocre level. If that's the case, the Giants would most likely be able to afford both TEs and not think twice about it. But if Boss does make the jump, there is no way the Giants could afford 2 TEs each making $4-$5 million a piece each year. So Reese will have a tough decision to make. Does he stay loyal to his proven vet and one of the faces of the franchise? Will he go with youth over experience? Who knows?
But it will be interesting to see how this one plays out in the years to come.
NOTE: I have added a new sidebar section for pro day visits a scouting workouts. It's far from a complete list of every player that the Giants scout, but I haven't found anywhere that compiles a list that is even this comprehensive. If you click on the links it will take you to a scouting report of the player at nfldraftscout.com.
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