New York Giants: Who’s On The Team? – Running Backs Edition
By Ricky
Now that the offseason moves are mostly finished, one question remains: who’s on the Giants now? To help answer that, I’ll be breaking down one position on the Giants every few days, alternating between offense and defense. Every player covered here is currently on the Giants’ roster according to Giants.com, but keep in mind that many of them won’t make the 53-man roster once the real season starts.
The running backs are going to look a whole lot different in 2013 after Ahmad Bradshaw, who led the team in rushing carries and yards each of the last three years, was cut this offseason. While the veteran running back is only 27-years old and remains unsigned, it’s unlikely that the Giants would bring him back with the level of depth they already have at the position. Let’s take a look at that depth:
The Returnees
Andre Brown: Brown figures to enter training camp with the inside-track to get the majority of the team’s carries. While Bradshaw suffered through injuries most of last year, Brown emerged to average 5.3 yards per carry. He doesn’t have the same pass-catching or pass-protection ability as Bradshaw (at least not yet), but he might already be a better rusher.
David Wilson: After fumbling away his first career carry and ending up in Tom Coughlin’s doghouse for most of the season, Wilson showed some home run ability towards the end of the year. He had a couple big runs from the backfield, but his most electric plays came on the kick return. Wilson probably opens the year as the third-down back, but he’ll need to improve his catching skills.
Da’Rel Scott: Scott was a 7th-rounder in 2011. He’s only had 11 rushing attempts over the past two years, but has flashed some impressive speed as a returner. He likely won’t see much time in the backfield, but if the Giants want to move Wilson off kick return duty he could see some opportunities there.
Ryan Torain: Torain is a “returnee” only according to a very liberal definition of the word. He was signed in November of last year after Brown went down with a broken fibula, and resigned with the Giants for another year in the offseason. His Giants.com page doesn’t even have a picture of him. Don’t expect to see him much on the field, either.
The Rookies
Michael Cox: The Giants drafted Cox in the 7th-round of the 2013 NFL draft. He started his college career at Michigan before transferring to UMass because of a lack of playing time. Cox had a pretty good year with the Minutement, rushing for 715 yards and 5 touchdowns in 12 games. He could challenge for the third running back spot behind Brown and Wilson.
Jeremy Wright: Wright signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent after leading the Louisville Cardinals in rushing last year. Wright runs a 4.9/40 and has some experience returning kicks. If he makes the team, it’ll most likely be as a special teamer.