The New York Giants have locked up the last of their picks for this year’s draft.
The team has agreed to terms on rookie deals with second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson and fourth-round selection Dane Belton, Ian Rappaport reported on Monday morning. Both players are expected to sign their deals soon.
Robinson is a wide receiver out of the University of Kentucky and had a big spring in New York. Belton played safety and hybrid linebacker during his time at Iowa and the Giants could use him in a similar role when training camp opens.
Rookies report for camp on Tuesday with Veterans reporting on July 27 to the team’s facility in East Rutherford.
Robinson was named second-team All-ACC in 2021 and was the 2022 Citrus Bowl MVP. The Giants are hoping he can replicate the success that he had in college at the pro level.
Kentucky wide receiver coach Scott Woodward told the Giants Huddle Podcast that fans should expect more electricity out of Robinson.
“When I got on staff here, the guys were saying, ‘Hey, we got a pretty good shot at landing this transfer, Wan’Dale. He’s from Kentucky.’ I threw on his Nebraska tape, and the thing that pops off right as you watch it is this man is special with the ball in his hands,” Woodward said. “He would line up in the slot, at running back, all over the field. When Nebraska got the ball in his hands, special things happened. Coming from Nebraska and bringing him into our system, with Liam Coen who’s now the OC for the Los Angeles Rams, all you can kind of look at it and see is the Cooper Kupp comparison.
“What the Rams would do with Cooper Kupp, that’s kind of what we sold him on. He came in here and obviously produced at a very high level, had 104 catches for over 1,300 yards… With him being such a guy who just loves football and can take it mentally and put it back on the field into what a great product he did, it was so easy just to get him the rock because we lined him up all over the place. But (the) mental aspect of the game is not as good as Cooper Kupp, but just very close to it. We threw a lot at him and he was able to handle all of it.”
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Belton will be part of a revamped Giants defense and he hopes to be a key cog for New York going forward. His versatility is also a plus for the Giants going into camp.
“Right now, I’m just working on learning both safeties and being able to be versatile, that’s the biggest thing for me,” Belton said during rookie camp. “Being able to play multiple positions in college, translates to blitzing off the edge, covering deep and match routes underneath. Just shows the versatile aspect to myself. And right now, I’m just learning safety, but once I feel I’ve got this down, hopefully they’ll be able to move me around.”
