GMEN HQ Delivery: Giants RB Mailbag

Oct 6, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants running back

(22) does a back flip after scoring a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first quarter during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Are New York Football Giants questions doing backflips through your brain like David Wilson in the Meadowlands endzone?

Credit: NFL Game Rewind (Week 5 vs. Philadelphia)

No worries, Jints fans…

Just send your queries in to our GMEN HQ mailbag like Mr. John Martin, who sent in this query via his Twitter account @jpm051978 :

GIANT question: Do you think Jennings is going to be the favored starter at RB or Wilson?

This question has everything to do with health. While Rashad Jennings had a career year in Oakland in 2013, he’s still never going to be the type of NFL running back you want to hang your season on. To me, that statement says all I need to know about the “favored” starter for the New York Football Giants.

Rashad Jennings was certainly an important addition this offseason — earning $10 million and close to $3 million in guaranteed money — but he doesn’t have “first round pick” attached to his name like David Wilson does. That can’t be underestimated. Speaking of Wilson, on Oct 6, 2013, Wilson unfortunately herniated a disc in his neck. On Jan 16, 2014, Wilson had surgery that required doctors to perform fusion on his vertebrae. I’m no doctor, in fact, I probably didn’t even type that right…. but that doesn’t seem like the type of surgery you want your potential franchise running back having.

That said, if Wilson can make a full recovery, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be the starter over Rashad Jennings. But don’t just take my word for it. Let’s also get the opinion of my colleague, @AdamGaneles, who leans heavily towards Rashad Jennings:

"Barring a summertime injury, Rashad Jennings is a lock starter for week 1 at Detroit. A power back with versatility and football intelligence, he’s a typical Tom Coughlin ball carrier. Jennings is SECURE, with only two lost fumbles in 387 career rush attempts. David Wilson hasn’t received formal clearance for full contact, and even if/when he does, it’s clear the Giants view “Flip” as a–gamebreaker–not an every down back. The primary workload will belong to Jennings."

So John Martin, what we have here is differing opinions. However, both are based on David Wilson’s health concerns. With a neck injury like that, it’s hard to see a scenario where the Giants make Wilson their workhorse back in 2014. Ideally, I think they’d like to, it just might not be feasible after such a career altering injury.

In that sense, I agree with Adam. Barring a miracle recovery from David Wilson… Rashad Jennings should be your starter from day 1, week 1.

Thank you for joining GMEN HQ’s mailbag. Please GIANTS Nation, send in your questions to @gmenhq and we’ll feature your questions in upcoming editions. Let’s do this.