New York Giants Training Camp Profile: WR/TE Kelvin Benjamin

While Tim Tebow is getting all the attention down in Jacksonville for attempting an NFL comeback after several years away from the game, up in New York, another former first-round draft pick is trying to do the same.

That would be Kelvin Benjamin, a first-round pick in 2014 by the Carolina Panthers, who, like Tebow, is attempting a position switch and to tight end, no less.

So what do we make of Benjamin's quest to return to the NFL? 

Background

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Benjamin started out looking every bit the first-round draft pick when as a rookie, he finished with just over 1,000 yards receiving.

After that season, things started to slide downhill. He suffered a torn ACL before his second season and missed the entire year. When he returned for the 2016 campaign, he looked like he was getting back on track after recording 941 yards and seven touchdowns.

Then the wheels fell off. In 2017, Benjamin's mother died, and there were questions about his weight and subsequent work ethic. 

He was traded by the Panthers to the Bills (whose general manager is former Carolina executive Brandon Beane) just minutes before that year's NFL trade deadline in exchange for a third- and seventh-rounder in 2018.

In trying to make sense of the move, quarterback Cam Newton had his best season in 2015 when Benjamin was sidelined, throwing for a career-high 3,837 yards and a career-high 35 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Benjamin's career continued to slide downhill. He appeared in six games for Buffalo and caught 16 balls for 217 yards and one touchdown.

He also questioned his fit in Carolina, throwing shade against Newton in an interview with The Athletic.

Truly, I just think Carolina was bad for me. It was a bad fit from the get-go. If you would’ve put me with any other quarterback, let’s be real, you know what I’m saying? Any other accurate quarterback like Rodgers or Eli Manning or Big Ben — anybody! — quarterbacks with knowledge that know how to place a ball and give you a better chance to catch the ball. It just felt like I wasn’t in that position.

The Bills released Benjamin during 13 games into the 2018 season, and he signed with the Chiefs for the final quarter of the season plus the postseason. He appeared in three games, catching two passes for 26 yards, and was inactive during the Chiefs postseason run.

Benjamin reportedly had a tryout scheduled for the Giants in 2019 that never materialized. In 2021, he will now get another opportunity to resume his NFL career, but as a tight end.

What He Brings

At 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, Benjamin is the tallest receiver on the Giants' 90-man roster and is tied with Nakia Griffin-Stewart and Kaden Smith as the second tallest tight end, behind 6-foot-7 Rysen John.

While Benjamin has a large catch radius, some of the biggest knocks against him as a receiver included struggles to get open consistently, except in those instances where his size gives him the advantage.

He also doesn't have impressive "yards after the catch" stats, having averaged 2.9 YAC in his career. Add to that a 9.8% dropped pass rate and a 38.6% contested catch success rate, and it's not hard to reconcile why teams probably thought there was more to Benjamin's game.

Benjamin has elite size and very good athleticism, but again, you're left wondering where the production is from his days as a receiver, just as you're left wondering how he might fare in his adjustment to in-line blocking. 

His Contract

There was no contract data available for Benjamin as of the writing of this article.

Roster Projection/Expectations

The Giants are stacked at both receiver and tight end, making the addition of Benjamin something of a head-scratcher.

If nothing else, and if the practice squad rules remain the same as last year, there could be a place for Benjamin with the Giants. 

And if not, at the very least the Giants are affording him an opportunity to put together some new tape from the upcoming preseason for the rest of the league to peruse.