If the Giants plan to use short passing as an extension of play-caller Brian Daboll’s running game in the offense, Tyrone Tracy Jr. could be a perfect fit.
The fifth-round draft pick appears to be out-vying Eric Gray and Dante Miller for the primary backup spot to starting running back Devin Singletary early in training camp.
Maybe that’s because Tracy made the switch to the backfield after five years as a Big Ten receiver, rushing for 716 yards and eight touchdowns last season at Purdue.
“I’m going to try to do it to the best of my ability wherever I’m used,” Tracy said. “But I think the shorter plays, like hitches and backs, I’m not going to be able to do that.” [coming] “I think I have a little bit of an advantage with my background, attacking out of the backfield, but we have a lot of different pieces in our playbook. That’s what makes our offense really good.”
“I figured things out pretty quickly,” Tracy said.
If you don’t know, just ask Singletary, who played according to Daboll’s strategy with the Bills.
“Offensively, we value intelligent players,” Daboll said of drafting rookies. “They know what to do. [and] Why is that important?”
The Giants’ backup running back has rarely been called upon when lead starter Saquon Barkley has been healthy.
Singletary may be more of a leader by committee.
“It’s fun to learn new things,” Tracy said, “and pay attention to the little things. … How to take care of my body, how to come back, how to make sure I don’t repeat the mistakes I made the day before. Every day I’m learning how to be a running back, but more importantly I’m learning how to be a pro.”
The starting offensive line at Friday’s practice included four offseason additions: LG Jon Runyan Jr., C Greg Van Roten, RG Aaron Stinney and RT Jermaine El-Emnoth.
Projected starter C John-Michael Schmitz (shoulder) missed his fifth consecutive practice, while RT Evan Neal (did not practice) and OG/OT Josh Ezeudu (injured Friday) have seen their expected roles reduced since the start of camp.
DT Rakeem Nunez-Roche has noticed changes in Runyan and El Emnoor in particular compared to last year.
“Right now, they’re playing great in the run game,” Nunez-Roches said. “They have a really solid presence. They’re communicating really well. Before, sometimes we knew what was going to work, and now it’s not working.”
WR Darius Slayton’s workload was lightened on Friday because he felt a little “nervous,” Daboll said.
It’s been a busy week for Slayton, who changed agencies and joined Athletes First ahead of a sabbatical in the second year of his career.
He signed a two-year, $12 million free agent contract to return to the Giants in March 2023.
Earlier this year, he opted out of five weeks of voluntary OTAs in hopes of getting a raise, only to have $650,000 added to his contract as a hard-to-reach incentive.
