New York Giants Training Camp Preview: RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Outside of Saquon Barkley, who was drafted No. 2 overall in 2018 amid heavy criticism, the New York Giants have struggled with drafting running backs. This offseason, it became a priority for the front office to take one, and they brought in dual-threat ball carrier Tyrone Tracy Jr. to try to reverse the trend. 

In just the last few months, the Giants’ running backs room has seen many drastic changes. Barkley and former backup Matt Brieda departed the franchise in free agency, and two more rushers, Gary Brightwell and Deon Jackson, were released following injury designations. That left them with two unproven pieces, Jashaun Gorbin and Eric Gray, who aren’t ready to contribute heavily.

In return, they signed veteran Devin Singletary, who is expected to be the front-runner and opened up a competition for his backup. New York also signed Dante Miller and former UFL star Jacob Saylors to battle for their tastes of the 53-man roster and topped it off with arguably the most intriguing fifth-round draft selection of Purdue’s own Tracy.

Unlike the other players in the position, Tracy comes to the NFL and the Giants with one of the more interesting and versatile backgrounds. He spent his early collegiate years at Iowa, where he appeared in 38 games as a wide receiver and struggled to perform more than modest production as a perimeter pass catcher. 

In 2022, Tracy transferred to Purdue with his former coach from Iowa, and it was suggested that he transition to the running back position, a move that the player credits with saving his career. 

In his first season in the backfield, the 24-year-old led the Big Ten in yards per carry (6.3), scored eight rushing touchdowns, and had his most extensive action in five seasons. 

Tracy remained involved in both sides of the Boilermakers offense through his final season in 2023, but the rushing made for a record campaign and thrust him into the draft spotlight. He now enters his first training camp with the Giants, boasting all the right elements to be an explosive playmaker in their current thinly talented backfield. 

Likened to Tony Pollard in his skillset, Tracy is an incredible athlete with a giddy-up to beat interior defenders around the edge and burst down the sidelines for huge gains. With speed and explosiveness, he is a threat to score on any given play, including the passing game, where he has the verticality and physicality to catch short and medium-range balls, shed tackles at a high rate, and create valuable production for the Giants offense. 

No matter where he is placed on the field, Tracy does many things right and brings that hard-hitting running that the Giants have admired in the best running backs of their recent history. There could be a learning curve against sharper NFL gap defenders early on. 

Still, Tracy is a dual-threat running back candidate who was highly viewed among late-round prospects and could outpace the rest of the position group for the late-down, passing situations co-pilot spot with Singletary if he continues to impress throughout training camp. 

Height: 5-11
Weight: 210 lbs.
Exp.: R 
College: Purdue 
How Acquired: D5-24

Tracy’s second and final season with Purdue saw his most extensive action since transitioning to the running back position. On the ground, he rushed 113 times for a career-high 716 yards and eight touchdowns and posted an average rush of 6.3 yards that led the Big Ten and marked the second-best single-season rushing average in the Boilermakers’ history. 

Not only did he carry the biggest workload of his collegiate tenure, but he did it with a hardnose attitude that shredded opposing defenses for extra yardage. Tracy forced a whopping 46 missed tackles on his 113 carries which was good for 506 yards after contact and an average of 4.44 yards after contact per rush that finished fourth in the entire nation. He also had an explosive run rate of 23.1 percent which topped off at the 97th percentile since 2018. 

Along with his rushing output, Tracy contributed an additional 19 receptions for 132 yards and an average catch of 6.9 yards in Purdue’s aerial game. Most of his work came from the backfield, but he was an occasional contributor to the slot, which goes back to his days as a wide receiver in Iowa. Even there, his physicality showed with steady hands that he only dropped two passes all year and created 129 yards after the catch for the third-best total at the college level. 

Tracy returned 16 kickoffs on special teams for 408 yards (25.5 average) and a touchdown. It seems unlikely the Giants throw him to the wolves if he lands an important role in their backfield in 2024, but that offers him an additional pathway to the active roster should they elect to go there.