Recently, a school of tight ends linked for the yearly Tight End University, which is hosted by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, along with San Francisco 49ers veteran George Kittle, and the now-retired Greg Olsen. It will turn out to be a memorable experience for New York Giants rookie Thomas Fidone.
"I got some pretty cool compliments from [Travis] Kelce, just out of the blue," Fidone recently told KETV's Matt Sottile.
For a young tight end looking to make an impact on the Giants as early as possible, Fidone's recent experience surely has to be a confidence-booster as he kickstarts his career.
"He told me I was extremely athletic and moved extremely well," Fidone continued. "He told me that the top of my routes were really good. He didn't say it like that, but he said it. So, just being able to hear that from him was cool."
As a four-star recruit out of Iowa, Fidone joined the Nebraska Cornhuskers for college. He missed his true sophomore effort, making his full-time NCAA debut in 2023. In his first 12 college games, Fidone caught 25 passes for 260 yards and four touchdowns.
During his second and final season at Nebraska, Fidone appeared in 13 games. He came down with 36 catches, totaling 373 yards. He didn't reach the endzone during his final season, leaving him with four NCAA touchdowns before entering the 2025 NFL Draft.
Fidone fell to the seventh round. He was selected by the Giants with the 219th overall pick. He's got an uphill battle to earn a spot on the Giants' official depth chart. While it's still early in the process, it seems like Fidone is having a good summer already, gaining the attention of one of the most notable players in the game.
Since entering the NFL in 2013 as a third-round pick, Travis Kelce developed into a top-tier tight end by season two. After he exceeded 800 receiving yards and four touchdowns in his second and third seasons, he went through seven-straight seasons of cracking 1,000 yards. His production has dipped over the last two years, but he remains strong at the position.
Just last year, Kelce caught 97 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns. At this stage of his career, he's totaled 12,151 yards and 77 touchdowns during the regular season. He has 25 playoff games under his belt. In the postseason, Kelce has exceeded 2,000 yards and reached the endzone 20 times. He's been a key contributor on three Super Bowl-winning squads.
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