Alexander Wilson
The NY Giants did not bring in Patrick Ricard for decoration.
I keep coming back to that because fullback signings can get treated like cute throwback moves, especially in a league obsessed with spacing everything out and living in shotgun. Ricard is different. He is a 300-pound warning shot from John Harbaugh, and the message is pretty simple: the Giants want to get heavier, uglier, and a lot more annoying to tackle.
Ricard has been worked into OTAs, but the real payoff will not show until the pads come on. The position barely reveals itself in a non-contact spring setting because the good stuff happens when linebackers have to meet him in the hole and safeties start making business decisions.
Ricard tells you what Harbaugh values
The resume is not small. Ricard is a six-time Pro Bowler who spent nine seasons with Harbaugh in Baltimore, and the Giants did not need to guess what he looks like in this kind of offense. They already knew the blueprint.
The Ravens’ run-game success with Ricard was ridiculous. In 2024, Baltimore ranked first in yards per game, yards per play, red-zone efficiency, rushing yards per game, and yards per carry, with Ricard serving as one of the tone-setters. That does not automatically follow him to East Rutherford, but it explains why Harbaugh wanted him.
Henry Hynoski also nailed the emotional side of it when he told Giants.com that Ricard is an “absolute hammer”. That phrase fits. Ricard is not there to fool people, he is there to move them.
The Giants want the run game to dictate
This is where Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr. become more interesting. The Giants do not have to turn this into a basic fullback-leads-through-the-A-gap operation every snap. Ricard gives them options, and options matter when an offense wants to be physical without becoming predictable.
Skattebo can run through contact. Tracy gives them more burst and receiving ability. Ricard can line up in the backfield, shift across the formation, chip an edge, lead through the hole, or force defenses to match heavier personnel before Harbaugh and the staff throw something off it.
The value lives there. The Giants are trying to build an offense that can dictate terms instead of asking the quarterback to be perfect on every third-and-7. If they can create second-and-4 more often, Jaxson Dart’s life changes, and the entire passing game gets cleaner.
The offensive line angle already looks more promising, but Ricard adds the attitude piece. He is the extra body that tells defenses the Giants are willing to win a grimy game if that is what the week requires.
Nobody should overreact to spring usage. Ricard’s real evaluation starts when the pads crack and the run fits get honest. If he still looks like the Baltimore version, the Giants’ offense will be more than different on paper, it will feel different in the fourth quarter when defenses are tired of seeing 300 pounds coming downhill.
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