The preseason is over for some teams, including the Giants. That backfield is set, and while some have been eyeing rookie Cam Skattebo, I'm pretty comfortable drafting starter Tyrone Tracy.
Skattebo missed some preseason time due to a hamstring injury, but to his credit he was able to suit up for the finale Thursday night, carrying 3 times for 12 yards against New England. Jaxson Dart was also impressive, fueling the thought that the Giants have some young offensive players (obviously, Malik Nabers is one of them).
But Skattebo is going to open seeing spot duty, possibly as the No. 3 (since Devin Singletary is still around). Tracy was pretty good as a rookie, and some of the concerns with him are overblown.
Prior to Skattebo's injury, the two were being selected almost back-to-back in fantasy leagues. Now you've got Tracy being selected around 29th, and Skattebo 35th in PPR leagues. Part of it is the injury, and part of it was beat writer Jordan Ranaan's emphatic endorsement of Tracy as the starter a couple of weeks back. ("It's 100 percent Tyrone Tracy...there is no competition," said Raanan. )
If you draft Skattebo, maybe you're aware he'll be on your bench the first month of the season, but if Tracy stumbles (or fumbles), Skattebo can swoop in and be a steal.
But Tracy was pretty good last year. He had a two-game stretch midseason where he fumbled 3 times, 2 lost. One of those miscues gave the Panthers the winning points in their overtime loss. People remember that.
But Tracy fumbled just once (not lost) in the last six games, and he generally retained the support of the coaching staff. He continued to play over two-thirds of the snaps and production was solid down the stretch, as shown below. (Table shows the rookie's seven games after that Carolina fumble.)
| TRACY POST-CAROLINA, 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp. | Run | Tgt | No | Rec | TD |
| T.B. | 42 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 0 |
| at Dal. | 32 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 1 |
| N.O. | 45 | 10 | 5 | 38 | 1 |
| Bal. | 31 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| at Atl. | 26 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 1 |
| Ind. | 59 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| at Phi. | 59 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Avg. | 42 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 0.4 |
Tracy wasn't putting up big numbers on that broken team, but averaging 15 touches and 66 total yards, with 3 TDs in seven games, wasn't bad. And earlier, when he took the job away from Singletary, he rushed for over 100 yards and scored in three of his games, including that Carolina game.
I don't think he'll be playing full-time. Skattebo will have a role; maybe he plays in some passing situations, or maybe they try him near the goal line. Singletary might come in for some situations. Lots of possibilities.
But it appear I'm going to have him on a few teams. To me, the second-year back looks undervalued. As a 3rd running back with some potential to finish in the top 25 at the position, I'm in.
--Andy Richardson