Giants’ Breaking down tape.
The question on everyone’s mind when it comes to the New York Giants’ quarterback situation is, “Do the Giants really have something good?” It’s a question that every Italian-American watching the NFL, especially those living in or near the New York-NJ metro area, has been asking themselves.
I’ll do my best to remove that bias and answer the question of “How good is Tommy DeVito?” Especially after he helped the Giants win three games in a row.
First off, let’s be clear that this amazing DeVito story isn’t made up by some mafia boss or “Sopranos” director.
Sure, it’s a bit of a Cinderella story that he didn’t go undrafted in 2022, but there’s more to it than that.
In 2017, 247 Sports ranked DeVito as the number eight pro-style quarterback in the country, ahead of names like Kenny Pickett and “Mac Jones.”
For a long time, he has had the goods in terms of talent. Now, in his long and now-influential NFL tryout, DeVito’s physical skills have begun to show themselves. Let’s get into it.
From a scouting point of view, I’ll go over five plays that show that DeVito has some of the key traits or qualities that are needed to be a successful quarterback in today’s NFL.
I remember the first, seemingly uneventful, play I noticed. It was Week 9 against the Raiders. On a deep out-breaking throw to a receiver, you’ll notice the speed on the ball. Rocket!
It didn’t have to be a fastball because the window was closing, but it was a throw that was made with above average arm strength. When a quarterback can generate that much power on a throw, he doesn’t have to think as much, and defenders can’t get to the ball as fast.
Arm strength is critical, especially with the way zone defenses are playing today. But it’s not just about ripping the ball away. For obvious reasons, reading the entire field is important. If a defense has to defend just one side, it makes that defense’s job that much easier.
This play against the Cowboys, like the first one, wasn’t a highlight-reel, but it showed the mental capacity that DeVito has. He starts off looking left, then in rhythm flips to his right and makes an accurate, well-timed, and well-placed throw.
This is textbook execution from DeVito, another box checked. Touch and throw-layer skills are also critical in today’s NFL. It’s not always a bucket pass down the field, or a deep ball that needs you to crank up your high-tempo offense. On this one-handed catch in the back of the end zone in Week 11 vs. the Commanders, DeVito calmly stood in the pocket, then lofted a beautiful ball over the head of the trailing defender before he could intercept or jar the ball loose.
Over time, that pass can be added to a quarterback’s repertoire. Not only was DeVito not afraid to throw that ball, but he did so very early in his career in the NFL. That suggests he came into the league with the capability to make layered plays like that one. After all, athleticism has been the order of the day at quarterback for the past five-plus seasons. Improvisation, ad-libbing, creativity. Whatever you want to call it, these type of mobility-based plays have become a staple of how today’s modern-day NFL defense is being defeated.
Here’s a look at one of DeVito’s smooth athletic plays against the Commanders. He heads to his left, breaks on his breaks, and accelerates upfield with the nearest tackler whiffing in the air. It also suggests that DeVito has natural playmaking skills most of which can’t be taught.
It also suggests that DeVito has a natural playmaking ability, and most of it can’t be taught. He’s 6-1, 210 pounds, and while his size isn’t great, he ran a 4:59 at his Illinois Pro Day and has an above average 33” vertical and 114” broad jump. By today’s quarterback’s standards, he’s a good athlete.
Can he play with his arm when he’s on the run, or is it more of a scrambler when protection fails or everyone’s covering? On the game-winning drive against the Packers in Week 14, he answered that question with a pinpoint, one-handed throw to a wide-open Hodgins. He rolled right, kept an eye upfield (another “playmaker” instinct), and put the ball perfectly in place for Hodgins to make the catch.
From an analytics point of view, DeVito’s adjusted completion percentage (CPC) on his 126 professional dropbacks is 78.4%, which is seventh best among qualifying QBs. And this high rate isn’t just the result of short passes.
The average deep-tackled-to-total-yardage (aDigT) of DeVito is 7.4. While this number suggests that most of his throws have been quick, underneath ones, it’s not unheard of. In fact, his aDigT is higher than the aDigT of Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes, Daniel Jones, and Joe Burrow (all before their respective injuries).
In terms of big-time throw rates (3.0%), and turnover-worthy play rates (2.8%), his BTT% is 29th out of 40 qualifying QBs, and the TWP% is 19th lowest.
DeVito has struggled under pressure – what rookie doesn’t? – and has a 4.2 YPC there, second only to Tyson Bagent (ironically) and Bryce Young. But the analytics community has shown that “clean pocket play” is more predictive for QBs, and his 7.6 YPC without pressure is 13th best in the NFL. He’s also one of 13 QBs with an 80% or better adjusted completion rate when “kept clean” in the pocket. To top it off, he’s forced 5 missed tackles on his 11 rushing attempts so far, and four of those 11 runs have gone for 10+ yards.
So how good is he? He hasn’t been perfect – he’s missed some throws, and he’s taken an alarming 18.2% of sacks. But when I’m looking at a player’s game, I want to see if they can do many of the things we see in quality QBs today.
I can’t definitively say that a quarterback is “good” or “not good” three starts into an NFL career, but there’s no question that DeVito has flashed enough to justify more playing time, and there’s more good than bad here, which isn’t typical for a first-year starter.
