The New York Giants’ 2024 draft class has already produced a buzz five weeks into the season with record-setting wide receiver Malik Nabers, their first-round pick.
Their next two selections, safety Tyler Nubin and slot corner Andru Phillips, have been lauded as draft “steals” by several experts. And thus far, they have lived up to the billing.
Now comes another rookie, running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., the Giants’ fifth-round pick out of Purdue who rushed for 129 yards on 18 carries (a 7.2 yards per carry average) in Sunday’s 29-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Tracy was filling in for the injured Devin Singletary, who had gotten the majority of the carries out of the backfield over the first four games.
“He’s a smart player. I think (running backs coach) Joel Thomas has done a really good job with him,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters on Monday. “As much time on task as you can get for any player, particularly a young player, I think you improve at it. He’s improved since he’s been here.
“He played well (on Sunday), but the 10 guys around him played well too. There were good holes, did a good job of pressing the line of scrimmage, making decisive cuts, putting his foot in the ground on that third and two, one and a half to make a big play there. But he’s done a nice job for us since he’s been here of just continually improving, which is what we want all our players to do.”
Tracy was originally a wide receiver at Iowa before transferring to rival Purdue and becoming a running back. He is not your normal dyed-in-the-wool back. He’s got a different perspective.
“My biggest thing is, I always want to be an explosive runner, so every time I touch the ball, I want it to be a positive gain,” he told reporters after the game. “I feel like my game is very unique. I can run like a receiver, but then I can also do the inside game as well. That kind of gets lost in translation just because I’m a receiver, coming to running back.
“The big question coming into the league was, ‘Can he run inside zone?’ Obviously, I can run the outside stuff, I can do the open space, but they didn’t know if I could do it in between the tackles. I think today I answered that.”
Daboll was asked if he would consider splitting time more equitably between his backs when Singletary returns.
“I think we just take it day by day, week by week, see what we’re doing and what the game plan is for the opponent that we’re about to play. But we expect all our players to be ready and perform when their number’s called,” he said.
The Giants are gradually realizing their roster is deeper than most believe. It will be interesting to see how things play out as more of their younger players come of age.
