The 2020 season was certainly an unforgettable one for the NY Giants. Between hiring a new head coach, having no offseason program, playing through a pandemic, and nearly making the playoffs at 6-10, it certainly was an unusual year in East Rutherford, NJ.
The Giants faced a tough gauntlet of games against some damn good teams. The team hung around and fought until the end in most games and it was nice to see the team be far more competitive with better competition compared to recent years.
This roster was made up of a lot of young or unproven players trying to establish themselves as proven commodities in the NFL.
New head coach Joe Judge established a culture of toughness and grit that won over the locker room and was displayed week in and week out. Several players took advantage of the opportunities given to them and made the best of their situation.
Here, we breakdown the NY Giants’ surprise contributors and players who stepped up in unexpected roles.
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.
Nick Gates had a successful season his first time ever playing center.
Heading into 2020, one of the biggest question marks surrounding the Giants was who would play center and snap the ball every play to Daniel Jones.
Enter Nick Gates, who more than answered the call of duty.
Gates joined the Giants as an undrafted free agent back in 2018. He came into the league as a former tackle who started at Nebraska but had absolutely zero experience playing center at any level of football.
The Giants saw enough to like Gates and keep him on the roster in 2019. Gates was active for all 16 games and had three starts in 2019 and showed some promise for the future.
Once the Giants brought in Judge and a new coaching staff, they determined Gates’ future would be best suited at center. Gates attacked and worked at center all offseason and came into training camp ready to lock down a starting job.
Gates showed some toughness, passion, and played with a nasty streak that the coaching staff loved. Nick had little competition during camp and the job seemingly became his. Once August 1st came, the team rewarded Gates with a 2-year, $6.8 million extension. This all but confirmed Gates would be a starter and an important figure on the Giants line.
Despite never playing the position, Gates seemingly made the successful (and rare) transition from an NFL tackle to an NFL center. Gates had some struggles early in the season but kept working at it and progressed significantly as the season went on.
Gates finished his first season at center with 16 starts, zero missed snaps, and zero sacks allowed. These gaudy numbers are encouraging to see for a line that has to be improved and developed further this offseason. Gates looks the part as a long-term answer at center, something the NY Giants have been looking desperately for since Shaun O’Hara’s retirement.
Tae Crowder was certainly relevant in 2020.
The last pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Tae “Mr. Irrelevant” Crowder certainly put a quick end to that nickname.
In fact, Crowder fully embraced being the 255th and last pick of the NFL draft and turned the “255th pick” and “Mr. Irrelevant” status into a full-blown personal brand. Check that out here!
Back to football, Crowder made his presence felt all over the stat sheet all season long.
Crowder’s first big moment came Week 6 when he scooped and scored a Washington Football Team quarterback Kyle Allen fumble for a 43-yard touchdown return to give the NY Giants’ their first win of the year. Crowder showcased his patience, athleticism, and speed to recover the ball and have the ability to take it back all the way.
The Georgia alum ended his rookie year with 11 appearances and six starts. In that time, he made the most of every opportunity and he racked up 57 tackles, three tackles for a loss, three QB hits, one sack, a pass deflection, and the game-winning fumble recovery for a touchdown in Week 6.
A promising player with unique physical traits, Crowder proved he belonged on NFL fields on Sundays and should stick around for years to come. He is a fun player to watch, as he tenaciously runs sideline-to-sideline chasing down skill players and wreaking havoc.
Graham Gano was a terrific free agent signing for the Giants in 2020.
Graham Gano was a revelation for New York in 2020.
For the first time in quite a while, the NY Giants had a reliable, steady, and dependent kicking option that consistently kicked the ball successfully through the goalposts every week. Gano brought a wealth of experience and a sense of professionalism that was lacking greatly for the team at kicker in recent years.
Gano came in and took over for Chandler Catanzaro who never seemed to be a legit option for the team at kicker. Gano entered the season coming off a sabbath 2019 where he spent the season retired. Graham returned in 2020 and had a career year.
Gano went 31-of-32 on field goal attempts which tied his career-high for most field goals made in a season. Gano also hit 21 of 23 extra points and he ensured the Giants would almost always score seven points after a touchdown.
Gano’s patience and success this season paid off brilliantly. The team rewarded Gano with a 3-year, $14 million extension in November and he will be the team’s unquestioned kicker for next season.
After years of drama and turbulence at the kicking position, the NY Giants finally got it right with Graham. Instead of unnecessary drama dealing with domestic violence, arrests, DUIs, and missed kicks, Graham Gano came in and kept his head down, and went to work every day. He had one of his best seasons ever at age 33 and looks to build upon these numbers for next season.