Giants Post-Saquon Barkley Era Offers Hints of Promise

The Giants running game was the story in the team's 14-3 preseason win over the Detroit Lions Thursday.

Aug 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants running back Eric Gray (20) scores a rushing touchdown in front of Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) and cornerback Morice Norris (39) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

If Thursday night’s New York Giants preseason opener against the Detroit Lions was any indication, the post-Saquon Barkley era of the Giants running game is going to be just fine.

As of Saturday evening with six Week 1 preseason games still to be played, the Giants rushing game ranked first in the league, having averaged 155.0 yards against the Lions. 

The trio of Tyrone Tracy, Jr.,  Eric Gray, and Dante Miller combined for 141 yards on 21 carries (the remaining rushing yardage gained by the quarterbacks) and Gray in particular, accounted for both of the Giants' touchdowns in their 14-3 win over the Lions.

“I thought they were decisive. I thought there wasn't a lot of stutter stepping. I thought they were hitting the hole with good vision. They ran in space,” head coach Brian Daboll said of the developing committee, whose lead, Devin Singletary, had the night off. 

“It wasn't perfect, but most of the time, they were going forward. They ran hard. They got their pads down. They did a nice job for the first game.”

Indeed, even though it was preseason and the game was against the Lions' backups, it was reassuring to see the committee play so well. Tracy seems to be the clear RB-2 for the Giants, not only getting the start but also rotating back onto the field after coming off briefly when Gray wasn’t successful in the first quarter.

He was very impressive in his first action as an NFL player. The receiver-turned-running back showed off the vision and quickness he put on tape in college and compensated for some inconsistent blocking from the Giants’ reserve offensive linemen.

On a couple of occasions, his agility allowed him to find nearly nonexistent seams and create positive yardage on plays where he probably should have been tackled in the backfield.

Tracy also consistently finished his runs with authority and physicality. In short, Tracy might not have had any fireworks, but he looked like a big play waiting to happen and not out of place as a starting running back.

While Gray took a little bit to come on, he was without a doubt the “Offensive Player of the Game” for the Giants, finishing with 98 all-purpose total yards and two touchdowns on just eight total touches (four carries, four receptions), the highlight of his night being the 48-yard touchdown run to put the Giants up 7-3, a score set up by his catch on a 24-yard wheel route.  

Miller, nicknamed “Little Turbo,” is probably fourth on the depth chart right now, but if he continues to make plays in practice and games, he could make it difficult for the Giants to set him free.  

Miller is a north-south runner with terrific acceleration once he makes his cut and gets vertical, particularly on the second and third steps of his run. He doesn’t have the agility and wiggle of Tracy or Gray, but his explosiveness is palpable.  

Daboll and the coaches now need to determine how to manage the depth behind Singletary.

“You just let them play,” he said. “That's what they need to do. I think I've had a lot of questions on that early on about the youth of that room. You let them play. 

“I thought they did a good job in protections, knowing who to block. It wasn't overly complicated, but they stuck their face in there, fit the window, and blocked some blitzers. 

“They ran hard. They knew what to do. Again, it'll be good competition for all those young players, but I think (Running Backs Coach) Joel Thomas has done a fantastic job with the development of that youth room.”

This is only the first preseason game, and we shouldn’t leap to any final conclusions. However, each of the Giants' three young running backs was impressive enough to leave one with some hope that maybe, just maybe, the loss of Barkley won’t hurt as much as initially thought.   

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