The New York Giants have kept the NFL world intrigued this offseason under the spotlight that “Hard Knocks” has cast on them. The latest episode of the hit series revealed much more about the Giants, including their draft strategies in 2024 and how that impacted their fifth-round selection.
New York wound up taking Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the fifth round for depth at running back. As Dan Benton of Giants Wire shared, Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown had this to say about their outlook on the Purdue product before bringing him on board:
“Perceived flaws were that Tyrone was an older prospect. Not a lot of time in the running back room,” Brown said. “We flipped it and looked at the positive.”
“Brown noted that Tracy is a former receiver who can help in the passing game and then revealed that the team’s analytics department had him ranked near the top of the running back class in explosiveness.”
Giants: Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s switch to RB paid off
Tracy Jr. spent his first four collegiate seasons playing wide receiver. He did not make the transition to the backfield until 2022. The 5-11 talent was a competent wideout, capping out at 589 receiving yards at a rate of 16.4 yards per reception in 2019 for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Despite that, Tracy Jr. blossomed as a ball carrier once he transferred to the Boilermakers, producing 716 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in 2023 and 132 REC yards along with that.
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Tracy Jr. has the athleticism and versatility to deliver on management’s pre-draft projection
It was more than the numbers for the Giants though. Despite only having two years of experience beating O-Linemen at the line of scrimmage, Tracy Jr. showed just how athletic he was at the 2024 Draft Combine, running a 4.48-second 40-yard dash and notching a 40-inch vertical jump. It’s this explosiveness that made him such an attractive option for New York to invest in.
The 24-year-old rookie is expected to have a role in the Giants’ offense from the onset of his career. It’s unclear how big of a slice he’ll have of the pie in the carries department, with veteran RB Devin Singletary positioned as the team’s bell cow. Nonetheless, when Tracy Jr. takes the field in 2024, he’ll be able to show his burst cutting up the middle or catching passes and being dynamic in screen pass play situations.
