When the New York Giants chose to let Saquon Barkley walk in NFL free agency, they replaced him with veteran running back Devin Singletary and rookie fifth rounder Tyrone Tracy Jr. — not to mention Eric Gray, who was drafted in 2023.
While it’s been very clear that Singletary will be the new starter in 2024, the Giants have yet to reveal how much they will work in Tracy and Gray throughout the season. However, ahead of Week 1 versus the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Brian Daboll did hint that the team could lean on the free agent acquisition early on.
“[Singletary is] just a good running back,” the Giants HC told reporters on September 3. “You can use him on all three downs — whether that’s running inside, outside, pass protection, routes, you don’t have to sub him a bunch.”
“I’d say he’s an all-purpose back for us,” Daboll continued. Adding later that he’s “known” Singletary for quite some time, and he’s always been “consistent” both as a ball carrier and an athlete in general.
Daboll was the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator when the AFC East franchise drafted Singletary out of Florida Atlantic in 2019. He remained with the staff and the RB for three years before eventually accepting the head coach position in New York.
Could Devin Singletary Get Bell-Cow Usage With Giants?
Singletary has never really been known as a bell-cow running back, despite being considered a starter for the majority of his career.
The Bills offense didn’t run the ball a ton with Singletary, compared to an offense like Derrick Henry’s Tennessee Titans, for example — who dished out somewhere from 215 to 378 carries per year for Henry alone from 2018 through 2023.
By comparison, Singletary never ran the ball more than 188 times during any of his regular seasons in Buffalo.
Ironically, the former third-round selection is actually coming off a career-high 216 carries with the Houston Texans in 2023 despite beginning the campaign as the backup. Singletary’s yards per carry average was the worst of his career with Houston (4.2 yards per attempt), but he posted a high mark in rushing yardage (898).
Having said that, Singletary posted more scrimmage yardage during each of his final two seasons in Buffalo. The first was with Daboll, and the two campaigns were near-identical with just one scrimmage yard separating them.
It remains to be seen if the Giants will use Singletary as a bell cow in 2024. As mentioned above, Daboll never really utilized him like that as a runner with the Bills, but he did keep Singletary on the field for at least 60% of Buffalo’s offensive snaps in two out of their three seasons together.
A snap share that high is on par with the Henrys of the league.
Devin Singletary’s Usage Could Be Determined by Tyrone Tracy’s NFL Readiness
Gray showed some burst during the preseason opener, but the performance saved his job more than anything else. He could get some work early in the year as Singletary’s main source of relief as Tracy adjusts to the NFL level, but the rookie is more likely to steal snaps from the veteran as the season progresses.
And that right there is probably the determining factor for Singletary’s usage in year one of his Giants tenure.
If Tracy bursts onto the scene as a pass-catching running back with explosiveness, it’ll likely cut into Singletary’s snap share. If he needs more time to develop, it could be a whole lot of “Motor” for the Giants in 2024.
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Giants’ Brian Daboll Hints Offense Could Lean on Newcomer Early