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NY Giants 2020 Season: 4 Pleasant Surprises

By Danny Friedman

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 03: Wayne Gallman #22 of the New York Giants runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium on January 03, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 03: Wayne Gallman #22 of the New York Giants runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium on January 03, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Wayne Gallman #22 of the New York Giants . (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Wayne Gallman thrived in a contract year as the featured back.

Wayne Gallman finally broke out in year four with the NY Giants. A talented, championship-caliber back at Clemson, Gallman played second fiddle in the Giants running backs’ room for three years until he finally got his big moment to salvage his NFL career.

Saquon Barkley went down in Week 2 with a devastating torn ACL injury. From there, the team wasn’t impressed enough with Gallman and they want out and signed Devonta Freeman from free agency. Freeman was signed to be the starting back and the team’s new bellcow. Freeman got hurt which paved the way for Gallman to eventually prove his worth.

After seeing over 18% of the snaps only once in Weeks 1-6, Gallman never saw under 43% of the offensive snaps the rest of the season.

From there, Wayne The Train never looked back.

Starting from week seven until Week 12, Gallman found paydirt six times and scored in every game during that span. It’s interesting to note that Gallman’s usage increased every single week, as he received more and more handoffs exponentially during the five-game streak. During those five games, Gallman helped power the Giants to must-wins against the WFT, the Eagles, and the Bengals.

To follow up his impressive touchdown streak, Gallman paved the way to a monumental upset in Seattle. The train took off running and picked up a career-high 135 rushing yards vs the Seahawks, along with a career-long run of 60 yards. Wayne’s 60-yard scamper helped set up a 2nd half touchdown drive which was the difference in the final score of the game.

A shout out is due for Alfred Morris as well, he scored two touchdowns with one rushing and one receiving apiece. Morris was signed after a year removed from football and he had a solid season with 55 carries for 238 yards and one touchdown rushing. He had a nice 4.3 yards per carry and helped the Giants in several short-yardage situations.

Gallman ended the year with 147 carries for 682 yards and six rushing touchdowns. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry, a strong number for any back. Once Barkley went down, many assumed the Giants’ rushing attack would be as anemic as can be. Instead, Wayne Gallman sparked some life into the offense with a mixture of power, speed, and toughness to always fall forwards on his runs.

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