The New York Giants had a tough season in 2024 and walked away with a 3-14 record and at the bottom of the NFC East. Now, that’s in the past, and Brian Daboll and company are in the trenches of trying to put together a team that will be far more spectacular in 2025.
There were plenty of disappointments in 2024 for the Giants, but at least one player whose stats were not as good as expected is being predicted to turn around in the new season.
Giants Have One of the Best RBs in the NFL
The New York Giants drafted Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft with the 166th overall pick. He played running back with Purdue during his last two years of college football and started out in the wide receiver position for Iowa.
In a May 28 piece for PFF, Trevor Sikkema names the top running backs in the league. “It’s a tougher position to rank, given the razor-thin difference’s in talent and how each brings facets of the game – rushing, receiving, pass blocking,” he notes in the piece.
Here, Tracy is No. 30 on his tally of the best running backs in the league. He notes that Tracy had a rough 2024 season but thinks he’ll turn it around.
“Tracy enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in which he recorded 839 rushing yards with a 69.6 PFF rushing grade,” Sikkema states in the piece. “As a former receiver, his 40.9 PFF receiving grade was disappointing, but expect that to bounce back.”
Sikkema’s top choice for the best running back in the league is Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens. Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles comes in at No. 2.
“Even at 31 years old, King Henry is deserving of this list’s No. 1 spot,” Sikkema stated of Henry. “He led the NFL in PFF rushing grade in 2024 (93.5), winning PFF’s Best Runner award.”
He added, “Henry also boasts the highest PFF rushing grade in a three-year sample size going back to 2022 (94.2). Last season, he forced the most missed tackles (89) and ripped off the second-most runs of 10 yards or more (53).”
The NFL’s Most Underrated Wide Receiver
Aaron Schatz names the most underappreciated players in each position in the NFL in a May 23 feature for ESPN.
He names the Giants’ Darius Slayton the most underrated wide receiver in the entire league. It’s great to see Slayton get the props he deserves for shining in this competitive position. Also, Slayton is the only Giants player to make his tally.
“New York Giants Slayton wasn’t supposed to be anything special as a fifth-round pick in 2019, but he started nine games and caught eight touchdown passes in his rookie season,” Schatz noted. “Sure, he hasn’t come anywhere close to that end zone production since then.”
He added, “But the Giants played Slayton alongside Malik Nabers last season, and you need at least two starting wide receivers to survive in the modern NFL. Slayton caught 39 passes for 573 yards, which was convincing enough for the Giants to bring him back on a three-year, $36 million contract.”
