The New York Giants have gotten major contributions from their rookie draft class this season. One of the season’s biggest surprises emerged in the backfield several weeks ago with rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. exploding onto the scene and stealing the team’s starting job. Tracy has been excellent this season, establishing himself as the Giants’ primary running back and an offensive building block for the future of this team.
The Giants’ rushing attack has a bright future with Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Following the departure of Saquon Barkley in free agency this offseason, Giants fans were eager to see who would step up and fill that role. After the G-Men signed Devin Singletary in free agency, he quickly became the team’s starting running back to open the season. That plan changed, however, after Tracy stepped into the lineup for an injured Singletary in Week 5 and stole the starting gig.
Tracy burst onto the scene in Week 5 with a 129-yard rushing performance. He has since gotten the start in the following four games for the Giants, racking up 413 rushing yards and two touchdowns with a 5.36 yards per carry average from Week 5 to Week 9.
Tracy seems to only be scratching the surface of his potential as he averages 82.6 rushing yards per game. The 24-year-old rookie has a bright future ahead of him as he develops into a focal point in the Giants’ offense as a rookie. He could be viewed as one of the team’s primary building blocks by season’s end.
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Tracy was named to The Athletic midseason All-Rookie Team
Dane Brugler of The Athletic recently published his midseason All-Rookie Team, deep-diving into the NFL’s top first-year performers on both sides of the ball. Brugler named Tracy the All-Rookie Team’s first-team running back, expressing his excitement about the Purdue product:
At the season’s midway point, Tracy is leading all rookie running backs in rushing — which is impressive, considering he had just 12 carries in September. But once Devin Singletary went down with an injury, Tracy stepped into the Giants’ lead role. He now has 442 rushing yards (5.0 yards per carry) and a pair of touchdown runs.
A former receiver in college, Tracy has also been productive as a pass catcher and has yet to fumble. What separates him among this class is the explosive plays — he leads all rookie backs in carries of 20- and 10-plus yards (four and 11, respectively).
Tracy’s breakout campaign is gaining recognition across the league as he emerges as the rookie class’s top running back. His tackle-breaking ability and decisiveness as a runner have opened things up for the Giants’ offense this season as they take a ground-heavy approach to mitigate their woes in the passing game.
