The Giants are well into the next phase of their offseason program with the start of organized team activities — offense going against defense right there on the same field, but no contact allowed.
Consider it an opportunity for many Giants newcomers to make a positive impression, which is what Xavier Grimble needs to do to build some momentum for his uphill climb to reach the final roster.
Grimble, an undrafted free agent from USC, is a tight end. As Giants fans know all too well, it’s not exactly a position of strength for a team that sagged on offense in 2013 and did not address its tight-end deficiency with any marquee additions.
They signed former Bear Kellen Davis, who primarily filled the role of a blocker in Chicago, to go along with another newcomer with NFL experience, Daniel Fells, and unproven youngsters Adrien Robinson and Larry Donnell.
The Giants did not draft a tight end but quickly moved to sign Grimble, who staunchly believed he would be selected in the NFL Draft but was not taken in any of the seven rounds. That turn of events did not look good for a player who opted to leave school after a disappointing redshirt junior year.
“If you look around the NFL, there’s a ton of undrafted free agents and late-round picks that are great players,’’ Grimble said recently. “I don’t really think where you get drafted matters that much. I think it’s all about the opportunity you get and what you do with it. That’s my approach. I wasn’t drafted but it doesn’t really mean much to me. I got an opportunity, so if I do well, nobody will probably remember it.’’
What can Grimble offer the Giants? Well, he’s a 6-foot-4, 257-pound athlete who in 2010 was considered the best tight end in the country when he showed up at USC. His career never took off, with 69 receptions and 11 touchdowns.
Looking for a big final season, Grimble had to deal with shoulder and ankle issues and caught just 25 passes for 271 yards and two TDs, yet there were flashes with the ball in his hands that made him look as if he could develop into a weapon at the next level. Ed Orgeron, USC’s interim head coach, went as far as to exclaim Grimble “is going to be an All-Pro in the NFL.’’ The Giants gladly will settle for a serviceable player.
Grimble was given No. 89 with the Giants then did some research on that number, finding some highlights of Mark Bavaro, the franchise’s standard-bearer at tight end.
“I had heard his name a few times and was just talking to a guy who was telling me how great he was back in the day,’’ Grimble said. “I just ended up going to my computer trying to find some highlights, read a couple biographies just to see how he did it. It was pretty cool to see, he was a great player.
“Just his toughness and his humbleness and just how he let his actions on the field speak the most. I always like to look at the guys who were great before and look at what they did and mold yourself after that. You can’t go wrong with following somebody who has already done it before.’’