Tyrone Tracy Jr. Is Chasing Giants History — If He Can Hold Off Cam Skattebo

The New York Giants are entering the 2026 NFL season with a new and accomplished head coach in John Harbaugh, a highly revamped roster, and expectations to outperform the 7 wins they earned over the previous two campaigns combined.

One such player they’ll be counting on just so happens to be CBS Sports’ choice for the Giants’ breakout star for the upcoming season: third-year running back Tyrone Jr., whose fifth-round selection has already paid off more dividends than most had projected after he was picked by the Giants two years ago.

Tracy, the 166th pick in 2024, came to the Giants at a turbulent time. The team had just gotten past a very public breakup with their former star running back and two-time Pro Bowler, Saquon Barkley, who left to join the rival Philadelphia Eagles after long contract talks with the Giants went nowhere.

Enter the 5-foot-11 and 210 lbs Tracy, who had started his college career as a receiver. He offered speed and short-area elusiveness, but his background was largely as a wide receiver rather than a true bull capable of taking a boatload of handoffs from behind the line of scrimmage.

Tracy delivered the goods

Despite the concerns, Tracy has flashed in his first two seasons with the Giants, notching over 1,000 yards from scrimmage both times, with 10 total touchdowns, and averaging 4.3-7.7 yards per play on his attempts.

Those numbers have already put him in a special franchise company as he heads towards his third pro campaign.

Last season, Tracy became just the third Giants player to accomplish 1,000+ scrimmage yards in his first two seasons, joining only Odell Beckham Jr (2014-15) and Saquon Barkley (2018-19).

With another similar outing in 2026, Tracy's pursuit of Giants history would further legitimize him as a rare Giant and likely jolt the team's rushing game to a higher level that head coach John Harbaugh is aiming for.

Skattebo stands in Tracy's way

Jan 4, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

How solid Tracy’s chances are of logging a third 1,000+ scrimmage yards showing could come down to the team's plans for Cam Skattebo.

The Giants’ run game was going places with Skattebo’s unrelenting style, pushing the football beyond 4.0 yards per attempt in the first half of the season.

Tracy averaged 4.2 per carry and collected over 62 yards in seven of the Giants’ final nine games to help them finish among the top five teams in total rushing output. By default, he should be RB1 in this offense, but that is still to be determined.

The expectation is that there will be a committee , and the runs could be more abundant as they have fullback Patrick Ricard creating larger paths in his wake as part of the old-school power running scheme Harbaugh is bringing over from Baltimore.

Even if that comes to fruition, the best bet to reaching 1,000 all-purpose yards for a third season will likely require him to get involved in the passing element, where last year he recorded a 103.5 receiver rating when targeted in the passing game.

Some of the best teams in the NFL have a pair of dynamic ball carriers playing out of their backfields. As long as Tracy remains healthy, he and Skattebo will provide just that.

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