The road less traveled: Giants’ UDFA Dalen Cambre hopes special teams is ticket to NFL career

Former college walk-on, seldom-used wide receiver is hoping to complete the ultimate underdog journey

Dalen Cambre has his future mapped out. The New York Giants’ undrafted free agent rookie wide receiver/special teamer wants to coach football — hopefully at the game’s highest levels.

“Honestly, I want to play until I can’t anymore, but definitely whenever I’m done, I want to get right into coaching,” Cambre said recently during an exclusive interview with Big Blue View. “I’ve already taken a lot of steps into that. I’ve had a backup plan into the coaching realm.

“I’ve done what I needed to do to be prepared if I didn’t get this call to get to the next level.”

Cambre was not only an All-American special teamer for the Louisiana Rajin’ Cajuns, but said he “felt like” a player-coach.

With turnover at the special teams coordinator position, the staff relied on Cambre to help build schemes.

“Our coaches at Louisiana kind of gave me an opportunity to run and shape everything on the special teams units,” Cambre said. “We were in and out of coordinators, and they kind of blessed me with the opportunity to handle everything and almost be in control under their reign.

He was also asked to teach special teams players and to work with the younger wide receivers at Louisiana. He also goes back to his high school, St. Thomas More, in Lafayette, La., and works with players there when he can.

So, Cambre’s post-playing career is already set in motion.

The NFL calls

Before he gets to that coaching career, though, there is this pesky little matter of the unlikely NFL opportunity he now has.

Cambre said he is still “not sure” how the NFL found him.

As a receiver, Cambre caught just 10 passes during five collegiate seasons. On special teams, though, he held for placekicks for all five years, played gunner, and coached teammates. He played wherever he was needed to play and did whatever needed to be done.

“I’ve always, always heard through my career in college, special teams is how you get on the bus. Special teams is how you get to the next level. Special teams is how you, that’s just your way on,” Cambre said. “And everybody hears it and goes in one ear and out the other. Some people are like, yeah, yeah, but I kind of took it to heart. I was like, okay, it’s going to take a different path, but if that’s what they say it is, I’m going to do what it takes and stand up what I’m doing.

“Honestly, I didn’t really know [about the NFL]. I didn’t really know at the end of the season. I mean, my coaches told me, you’re going to have a shot, but I didn’t hear anything.”

Then, the former walk-on opened eyes at the Louisiana Pro Day.

“After pro day, I really started talking to teams,” Cambre said. “I don’t think I talked to the Giants until maybe a week or two before the draft. So, honestly, it happened very fast. But, again, I’m blessed with the opportunity to be here.”

The Carolina Panthers offered Cambre a rookie minicamp invite. The Giants, though, offered a full-blown UDFA contract — a guaranteed 90-man roster spot.

Now that he has this unexpected NFL opportunity, there is a great NFL special teams player he would like to emulate.

“There’s definitely one, and my coaches have told me through college, you remind me of this guy, and the name is Matthew Slater,” Cambre said. “He played for a long time. All you think about him, what he does, is special teams. Honestly, I want my career to model his in a way.”

Slater was a five-time All-Pro and 10-time Pro Bowl special teamer in a 16-year career that ended in 2023. During that career, he caught one pass and ran the ball one time while making 191 special teams tackles.

Photo by Ragin’ Cajun Athletics/University Images via Getty Images

Trying to make his mark

It is not easy for a player to make a mark on special teams throughout the spring and summer. All spring practices are held in shorts and t-shirts and are non-contact. Contact is also limited in training camp, as are padded practices. There is no tackling. There are only fragmented special teams periods, with no “live” work.

So, how does a player like Cambre show his mettle?

Cambre said he knows “1,000 percent” that he has to make plays in joint practices and preseason games.

“Even with practice, right now I’m not getting a whole lot of plays,” Cambre said. “I maybe get four plays the whole practice. I got to go out there, and when the ball’s coming my way, I got to make that.) And that’s just how it is. Same thing with the game. You may only get one play where the ball comes your way, or you may only get one chance to make a tackle. You got to make those plays.”

All Cambre can do right now is show special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial and head coach Brian Daboll that he is mastering the finite details of the job.

“I’d have to say special teams, I know it looks like you’re playing, you’re running 70 yards down the field, or punt’s a long play, kickoff’s a long play, right? But it’s a lot of small techniques put together, and that’s kind of what we’ve done in college, and that’s kind of what we’re building on now is we’re mastering the small techniques, and we’re mastering it on top of each other so when we get to the game, you can put them all together like a puzzle, and it works,” Cambre said. “And that’s kind of how special teams work.

“So it’s just a matter of you, within the drills and within what you’re able to do, showing them that you’re on it. And you’ve got to be able to take what they say in meetings, the small details, go out to the drills, do those small details, put it together with the next drill, take that next drill to the big team drill, which we haven’t started yet, and then when we go to that team drill, then you’ve got to take that team drill and bring it to the game.”

The road less traveled

There is only one Matthew Slater. There are few Steve Tasker’s or Nate Ebner’s, players who not only make careers out of special teams but become known for them.

“Everyone has their road,” Cambre said. “I was talking to Russell [Wilson] yesterday in the cafeteria, and I was talking to him about his road. His road’s different than a lot of other guys.

“But, yeah, it’s [special teams] just a different road, and you’ve just got to stick to it. Sometimes the road may come back to the main highway, but most of the time it’ll stay off to the side.”

Cambre has been the underdog before.

“Honestly, I came in, and same thing, going into college out of high school, nobody knew who I was. I was a walk-on, and my receiver coach from high school told me, go in, you have nothing to lose,” Cambre said. “And I stuck with that motto throughout college, and especially now, taking that motto, and I’m bringing it here, I’ve got nothing to lose.

“They didn’t know me from Adam, so I have to come out here, show them what I can do, show them who I am, and I’ve got to go make plays.”