The New York Giants are going to have several difficult decisions to make this upcoming off-season, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. With Leonard Williams, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Logan Ryan, all heisting free agency, retaining all of them will be extremely difficult.
However, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has done a phenomenal job utilizing lesser talent to fill gaps and mask deficiencies. On offense, things haven’t been so lucky, as Jason Garrett has failed to average over 20 points per game this season, scoring just seven against the Arizona Cardinals in week 14.
The New York Giants have finally realized one player’s potential:
One player has been fantastic for the Giants this season on offense, and his name is Wayne Gallman. In his fourth season in the NFL, Gallman is receiving his first true opportunity to be a workhorse running back.
He has started seven games this season, hovering around 50% of offensive snaps on a weekly basis. He is a fantastic north-south runner, averaging a career-high 10.1 rushing attempts per game. He’s also enjoyed 4.6 yards per attempt, another career-high. In the past, Gallman had struggled with fumbles, specifically in his rookie season when he fumbled three times over 111 rushes.
This season, he has rushed 121 times and held onto the ball efficiently, scoring six touchdowns and 561 yards gained. When Devonta Freeman went down with an injury in week 7, most believed that the Giants’ running game wouldn’t be able to recover, but Gallman propelled them to four consecutive games with 140+ rushing yards. This past weekend against Arizona was the first game in nearly 8 weeks that the Giants hadn’t reached 100 yards on the ground.
According to PFF, Gallman has been fantastic and one specific category the past two weeks, yards after contact. He’s averaged nearly six yards after initial contact, which attests to his ability to fall forward and churn out yardage.
He has also enjoyed back-to-back season-high grades in rushing, earning a long of 60 yards against Seattle in week 13. Overall, he seems to be a valuable asset for the offense and a fantastic supplement to Saquon Barkley, who tore his ACL in week two against the Chicago Bears.
Of course, when Barkley returns, he will take back starting reps, but Gallman can be a solid complementary option that helps in the running game and opens up things for Barkley in the passing game.
He shouldn’t be overly expensive on the market, meaning the Giants could likely keep him on a two-year contract worth $2 million per season at max. Alternatively, the Giants could allocate a later-round draft-pick toward a complementary back instead of investing even more money into a position that is seemingly less important in the modern-day NFL.