Endangered Species: Fullback Henry Hynoski

Long gone are the days of 3 yards and a cloud of dust. It looks like the fullback position is close to extinct in the NFL. In a pass happy league with rules designed with to protect pass catchers, the  un-glorified bruising and blocking back position has slowly been seeping out of the NFL for years now.

Like the remaining fullbacks around the league, the Giants fullback Henry Hynoski has not gotten his due credit over his tenure in New York. Heading into his 5th season Hynoski has been the lead blocker behind a pourous offensive line for the entirety of his career.That career started in 2011 as he paved the way for Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw for a tune of 116 yards per game in the Giants run to Super Bowl 46. His skills as a blocker far exceed his on-field production in any statistical category. Hynoski has caught just one pass since the beginning of the 2013 season, although he only played in 3 games in 2013. He saw his playing time decrease last season due to the Giant’s new west coast style offense, despite that decline in play time, he carried the ball a career high 7 times, though he didn’t have one carry go for more than 4 yards.

“I was just thinking go downfield and try and look for somebody to block,” he said. “You have no time to think.“

Despite numbers that would scare away any fantasy football owner Hynoski is an old school, hard nosed blocker who seeks out contact and follows plays downfield looking for someone to hit. That style was evidenced in Super Bowl 46 as he ran down the field looking to make a block and instead ended up recovering a Hakeem Nicks fumble. When he was asked about it after the game Hynoski replied “I was just thinking go downfield and try and look for somebody to block,” according to an article on thepostgame.com by Jeffrey Eisenband.

In offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s offense the fullback does play a significant role when he is called upon. His former fullback while he was in Green Bay, John Kuhn, carried the football 147 times and added 58 catches over a four year period from 2010-2013. Though Kuhn is a little more athletic than Hynoski it is fair to expect an increase in touches in the upcoming season.

Hynoski is an outstanding blocker who can carry the ball up the middle for a tough yard and even catch the ball out of the backfield. His constant desire for contact combined with his lack of statistical production speaks volume of his character and team first attitude. The fullback is dying but Henry Hynoski is doing everything he can to keep it alive.