Giants Player Profile | Wayne Gallman, Running Back
2019 Season Rewind
Running back Wayne Gallman is entering his fourth season with the Giants, and he is now on his third coaching staff.
Over his first three years, when given a chance, Gallman has been a productive back. Obviously, with the presence of Saquon Barkley, he has not been given many opportunities to showcase his skills.
In his first season in New York (pre-Barkley) while splitting carries with Orleans Darkwa, he averaged an impressive 4.3 yards per rush while running for 476 yards on 111 carries.
In the next two seasons, with Barkley as the lead back, he only amassed 80 total carries.
Last season he carried the ball 29 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns while only being active for ten games. That's a modest workload even for a backup running back.
He was able to showcase his ability once last season. During Week 4, Barkley missed the game with an injury, and Gallman stepped into the lead role against Washington.
He finished with 18 rushes for 63 yards and a touchdown. He also caught six passes for 55 yards and another touchdown. The Giants won that game 24-3.
Despite appearing to do everything right when given the opportunity, Gallman faded from the rotation, as Buck Allen passed him on the depth chart. At the time, the coaching staff alluded to Allen having performed better than Gallman in practice as a contributing reason.
Ironically, Allen wasn't re-signed when he hit free agency. And Gallman, one of the last remaining draft picks from the Jerry Reese era, is still not assured of a roster spot moving forward.
Looking Ahead
The Giants added two backs in the offseason. The first was Javon Leake, an undrafted free agent back from Maryland.
The second, and more significant signing, was Dion Lewis, who comes over from Tennessee, where he was accustomed to getting number two carries.
While Leake looks to be a long shot at making the roster as a kick returner, Lewis could legitimately eat up snaps from Gallman or make him expendable.
The good news for Gallman is that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has shown a practice to give carries to more than one back so you could see him using three backs in a game, and Gallman could carve out a legitimate role in this offense.
One thing he will need to prove he can do is to pick up the tough yards on short yardage. At 6-foot, 210 pounds, Gallman should be able to use that longer frame to explode for those short yards.
Adding to the pressure for Gallman is that he is in the final year of his rookie contract. Regardless of his role with the Giants, he will want to show New York and the other 31 teams that he can be a valuable member of their squad.
Gallman will have to show that he can be a consistent weapon in the passing game, whether as a blocker or receiver. He will also need to expand his role on special teams.
There will be eight running backs battling it out for three to four spots. Gallman has consistently shown that he can be a viable option in the backfield when given a chance, but there's no guarantee that he is coming for him this season.
The advantage for Gallman is that Barkley and Lewis are essentially the same type of back. So Gallman will need to show that he can bring something to the backfield that the other two don't.
With all that said, Gallman is in legitimate jeopardy of being cut this season. The presence of Lewis is a definite concern for his future with this team.
While the other backs on the roster aren't threats to take carries away from him, they can make themselves more valuable on special teams.
It will take a good preseason for Gallman to prove his worth, or he could be looking at the prospects of finding another team.
