Two Giants Rookies Join Exclusive Company in This Offensive Stat

Two members of the Giants rookie class have been producing in a special way this season.

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) runs with the ball, as New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi (0) tries to catch him, Sunday, December 8, 2024. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While the New York Giants aren’t boasting all the greatest collective statistics in their dismal campaign, they have continued to receive some valuable and unique individual production from the core players in their 2024 rookie class. 

Despite having some of the NFL’s worst metrics in overall team performance, including dead last in average points scored per game and 26th in yards, the Giants’ season-long outputs have been somewhat boosted by the valiant efforts of select members of their rookie pool who have shown promise in such a short time frame.

Wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. have been the leaders of the novices. Both are cheap value pieces that have carried the Giants’ charge in receiving and rushing metrics. It’s been a positive sight, given that the Giants invested important draft picks into the duo to replace and try to mimic the production of players who once stood in their place. 

In the Giants’ 14-11 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Nabers and Tracy added to their resumes by compiling a combined total of 21 touches for 124 yards and a rushing touchdown to account for a chunk of the Giants’ 325 yards of output and keep them in a competitive contest that came down to a game-tying field goal attempt at the end of the game. 

By securing their respective showings, which featured Nabers’ five catches for 79 yards and Tracy’s 16 carries for 45 yards and marked their fourth-highest combo of the season, the pair of rookies reached a new milestone that puts them into very special company in league history. 

The two first-year Giants each raised their average scrimmage yards per game to above 65 yards through New York’s first 13 contests this season. Per NFL Pro’s Next Gen Stats, the fest helped them become the first duo of offensive rookies to achieve that average in a minimum of 10 games since Reggie Bush and Marques Colston did it for the Saints during the 2006 season.

Eclipsing the average number has come much easier for Nabers’ whose season has stood atop the greatest at the wide receiver position. In 11 games played, he leads the Giants receiving work with 80 receptions on 126 targets for 819 yards and three touchdowns with the first two categories being in the top-5 players after Week 14. 

Within that body of production, Nabers has snagged an average catch of 10.2 yards, the third-best number on the Giants for players with at least 29 receptions, and turned in a team-high ten big plays for 20+ yards distance. He jolted his early success with two 100+ yard outings in the first four games of the year that saw him grab a combined 22 balls and 263 total yards after contact.

Nabers has been dominant against mismatches, which makes him reliable. His separation abilities are often on cue for big catches. His average target distance of 10.3 yards hovers around the middle of the league, but he is tied for third among receivers with 22 deep targets of 20+ yards, which he’s turned into 114 yards. 

Against the Saints on Sunday, Nabers had a pretty solid day fighting with New Orleans cornerbacks who weren’t as strong in the zone coverage scheme. He finished with an average of 15.8 yards to set a new season-high and helped keep the Giants offense alive in the final moments of the second half. 

Tracy, meanwhile, has achieved more because he has been a dual-threat ball carrier in the Giants system. He has tallied 141 rushes for 664 yards and five touchdowns with an average run of 4.7 yards, coupled with another 29 catches for 260 yards and a 7.4 average haul that is fifth-best on the team. 

The fifth-round pick out of Purdue, who once played wide receiver in college before transitioning over to running back, has raised his yards per contest to 51.1 on the ground and 16.6 in the air to arrive at the 68.1 total yards per game number. That stat includes his five big runs of 20+ yards and 200 yards after contact, which has helped juice the current results.

If he continues to stay healthy, the Giants might have themselves a ball carrier who will make that number look minuscule in about a season or two. Tracy likes to run with power up the middle and has forced 25 missed tackles, ranked 27th in the running back position. He is an excellent runner outside the tackles and uses speed to gain the edge and breakaway, as he has for over 200 yards this season. 

The rookie rusher finished his day against the Saints with a lesser impact in the run game, with just a 2.8 average attempt, but he made up for it as a receiver, with five catches for 38 yards, bringing the median play up to 5.2 yards per play. 

He has the abilities to become the Giants' lead back long-term after Saquon Barkley's departure, but the team will need to keep trusting him more to be the rock of their offense, especially down the stretch as they struggle to dish the football consistently. 

For now, both players have been pacing their positions in the rookie class and striving for historic records with their production, and that is a rare plus for the Giants in what has been such a lost year that they still have four games left to go. The franchise could be headed for another roster overhaul in the offseason, and these players are two of a small group that will give the Giants something to continue building around.

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See Also

• New York Giants Week 15 Storylines: Rested Ravens Come to Town

• New York Giants Injury Update: Potential Bad News for Offensive Line

• New York Giants Open Week 15 as Massive Home Underdogs vs Baltimore

• Giants Make Multiple Roster and Practice Squad Moves

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