The New York Giants are a team trying to get back to the playoffs after a disappointing 2023 season. In head coach Brian Daboll’s second season, the team regressed — due to both poor play and injury — from a nine-win squad to a six-win one. New York had a strong 2024 NFL Draft, though, and the franchise hopes these reinforcements will get Big Blue back to the postseason. And if some of the Giants rookies push the team’s veterans like it seems they may do, Daboll’s units will be better off for it.
Before we talk Giants rookies vs. veterans, it is worth noting that one first-year player will not be pushing any veterans for playing time. Former LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, the No. 6 pick of the draft, won’t have to push anyone. He’s already knocked every tenured WR out of the way and is the team’s clear WR1 heading in the season.
Now, with that caveat out of the way, let’s talk about the three Giants rookies who could displace their team’s veterans.
Rookie TE Theo Johnson vs. Daniel Bellinger
Just over a calendar year after sending a third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller, the Giants now have a hole at the position following Waller’s shocking retirement at 31.
Now, the G Men will ostensibly start third-year TE Daniel Bellinger but don’t be surprised if fourth-round rookie Theo Johnson out of Penn State pushes the young veteran for the starting job.
Bellinger, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has been solid for the Giants in two seasons. He has 55 catches for 523 yards and two touchdowns, with both scores coming in his rookie campaign.
The former San Diego State TE will likely continue to start for the Giants because he is an excellent all-around player in terms of catching and blocking. However, where Johnson may push Bellinger is in the passing game.
As a rookie, Bellinger got the most targets of any Giants TE with 35. After Waller entered the chat, the second-year pro got just 28 to Waller’s 74.
Can Theo Johnson become the new Darren Waller in Brian Daboll’s offense this year?
Johnson is a massive athlete at 6-foot-6, 259 pounds who ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. He still hasn’t put it all together yet, but he has the physical gifts you can’t teach.
As a Giants rookie, Johnson will likely lose playing time to Bellinger on run downs as the veteran is a much better blocker than the first-year player. That said, this could become a relatively easy split, especially in the red zone, if Johnson can continue to improve as a route-runner and a matchup nightmare for linebackers and safeties.
Rookie RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. vs. Devin Singletary
For the last six seasons, the Giants simply penciled in Saquon Barkley (when healthy) as the starting running back. Now, with Barkley gone down I-90 to Philadelphia, the G Men are officially a running back by committee operation.
Free agent RB Devin Singletary, who Daboll is intimately familiar with thanks to their time in Buffalo together, is the starter as of now, and second-year back Eric Gray is No. 2 on the depth chart.
Watch out for rookie fifth-round pick out of Purdue Tyrone Tracy Jr., though.
Tracy has a ton of traits that could make him a breakout rookie running back. He has speed (4.38 40 time), power with good size (5-foot-11, 209 pounds), and he can run and catch, starting games at running back and wide receiver with the Boilermakers.
Plus, Tracy didn’t become Purdue’s every-down back until his final season, making him fresher than many of the workhorse backs coming out of college this season.
Heading into training camp, it stands to reason that Daboll brought Singletary in to be RB1. However, it is worth noting that Singletary has never broken 900 rushing yards in a season and Gray has a grand total of 17 carries for 45 yards in his career.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. might not be the second coming of Saquon Barkley but he could be the Giants top back come Week 1.
Rookie S Tyler Nubin vs. Dane Belton
Poor Dane Belton. The Giants third-year veteran patiently waited his turn for two seasons behind safety Xavier McKinney, playing in 32 games and starting just seven. But now that McKinney is out in free agency, the Giants went ahead and drafted Minnesota S Tyler Nubin in Round 2 of the 2024 draft.
Nubin was one of the best all-around safeties in the 2024 draft. While he and Belton are roughly the same size (each 6-foot-1, Belton 190, Nubin 199 pounds) the Giants rookie is simply better than Belton at almost everything.
The former Golden Gopher is more versatile, being able to play center field, cover, and hit down in the box, and is a better ballhawk and playmaker than Belton with a school-record-setting 13 career interceptions in college.
Maybe Belton will get a chance early in camp to win the job, but when it’s all said and done, there is little chance Nubin isn’t the starting safety alongside Jason Pinnock this season for Big Blue.
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