Jerry Reese left a parting gift to the Giants. The former general manager's top two draft picks last year, tight end Evan Engram and Dalvin Tomlinson, were named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team on Tuesday.
The 23rd overall pick in last year's draft, Engram ranked among the best receiving tight ends in the NFL. Engram finished sixth in catches (64), fifth in yards (722) and tied for seventh in touchdowns (6) among all tight ends.
Engram's production dwarfed that of the other first-round tight ends. Tampa Bay's O.J. Howard, who was the 19th overall pick, had 26 catches for 432 yards and six touchdowns. Cleveland's David Njoku, who was the 29th overall pick, had 32 catches for 386 yards and four touchdowns.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Engram predictably struggled as a blocker, which contributed to him being graded as the 69th-best tight end in the league by Pro Football Focus. Howard came in one spot behind Engram, while Njoku graded as the 27th-best tight end.
Engram figures to be a big piece of the offense for Pat Shurmur, who is expected to be named Giants head coach after the Vikings' playoff run ends. The Vikings used two-tight end packages on 31 percent of their offensive plays this season, according to PFF.
Tomlinson, who was the 55th overall pick, continued a trend of solid second-round defensive tackles drafted by Reese. The Alabama product replaced Johnathan Hankins, who was a second-round pick in 2013. Hankins followed Linval Joseph, who was a second-round pick in 2010.
Tomlinson stepped into the lineup on Day 1 and started all 16 games. The 6-foot-3, 317-pounder finished with 50 tackles and one sack.
Tomlinson was graded as the 25th-best defensive tackle in the league by PFF (five spots behind Hankins). The other defensive linemen on the All-Rookie team are Cleveland's Myles Garrett (the No. 1 overall pick), the Eagles' Derek Barnett (No. 14 overall) and Cincinnati's Carl Lawson (fourth-round pick).
Reese had some solid hits in the early rounds recently, landing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (2014 first round), safety Landon Collins (2015 second round) and wide receiver Sterling Shepard (2016 second round). But he also had costly misses on back-to-back first-round picks with left tackle Ereck Flowers (2015 No. 9 overall) and cornerback Eli Apple (2016 No. 10 overall). Reese's greatest weakness was his inability to find talent in the mid-to-late rounds, which decimated the team's depth and was a major factor in his firing on Dec. 4.
Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt was named the PFWA Rookie of the Year. Hunt and Saints running back Alvin Kamara were the co-Offensive Rookies of the Year. Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore was the Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.