Giants Running Back Room: Who Actually Matters in 2024
The running back room in New York has always been harder to read than the quarterback spot, and 2024 was no different. When you look at the depth chart, it can look like a mess on paper. But the real answer comes down to how the coaching staff uses each guy on game day, not what the spreadsheet says. I spent a lot of time last offseason going back and forth between official rosters, practice squad reports, and actual snap counts because those three things never line up the way you want them to. Here is what actually happened in that backfield. Swift came in with a track record that made him the early favorite for every start. He took the bulk of first-team reps during training camp and stayed there through August. The issue with Swift is that he was built more as a receiving weapon than a between-the-tackles grinder, which matters when you are trying to control the clock against a physical defensive front.
From what I tracked, he saw his touches drop slightly once the weather turned cold in December. The Giants were not a run-first team, so the touch distribution shifted anyway. If you are building a fantasy outlook or a betting model around Swift, the receiving upside is real. The ground-game consistency is not guaranteed week to week.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. — The Efficient Rookie
Tracy was a fourth-round pick from Indiana, and he earned playing time by being reliable rather than explosive. His college tape did not show elite burst or breakaway speed, but he made decisions fast and avoided negative plays. What people missed initially was how much he filled in during injuries and load management. When Swift sat or got limited work, Tracy went in and produced yards per carry that stayed above four points consistently. That kind of reliability gets you red zone looks even if you are not the main back. My own mistake early on was thinking he would steal a larger share of carries permanently. He did not. The offense simply does not run the ball enough to support two heavy-touch backs.
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Matt Breida — High Upside, Unpredictable Health
Breida brings the kind of big-play ability that makes a depth chart look fun, but he also brings the injury history that makes him hard to trust on a weekly basis. His speed is still legit, and he can change a game with one touch. The problem is that the training camp workload is not always a reliable indicator of his availability during the season. I once tried to build a weekly projection model that assigned Breida a baseline of eight to ten touches per game, assuming he stayed on the field. It took me about three weeks to realize that was a bad assumption. He missed snaps throughout the year and when he did play, the snaps were sometimes split more than the headline numbers suggest. If you are using Breida in any kind of lineup tool, treat him as a boom-or-bust flex option, not a weekly starter unless the situation calls for it.
Other Names Fighting for Roster Spots
The rest of the group included players fighting for practice squad consideration. This is where the depth chart becomes almost meaningless unless you are tracking special teams value. A running back who contributes on coverage units gets protected from cuts far longer than a pure rusher who does not. Some of these names appeared in preseason boxes but disappeared once the roster was trimmed. That is normal. The final camp competition usually comes down to two or three guys who show they can handle the basic assignments without mistakes.
How to Actually Read This Depth Chart
Official depth charts are outdated by the time they are posted. Coaches move people around constantly based on opponent tendencies, practice performance, and game flow. The most useful thing to track is actual snap count data and target share, not the printed order. When I need a clear picture, I pull redzone carry splits and target distributions rather than total touches. Those two buckets tell you who actually gets used in scoring situations. In New York's system, Swift dominates the passing game work while the other backs split short-yardage and check-down duties depending on who is healthy.
Where the Model Breaks Down
The biggest limitation is sample size. The Giants do not run the ball enough each week to give a clean signal about who the true third-down back is. One or two goal-line stands can swing carry distributions for the rest of the season. If you are relying on carry volume alone, your projections will bounce around too much to be useful. Another issue is injury replacement chains. When Swift misses time, it does not always mean the next guy in line gets twenty carries. Sometimes it means the entire offensive game plan shifts toward pass-heavy concepts. That happened a few times last season, and it makes it risky to assume a simple handoff to the number two back. If you want a more stable alternative, focus on targets and red zone looks rather than raw carries. Those metrics tend to be more consistent week to week even in pass-oriented offenses.
Bottom Line
Swift is the workhorse when healthy. Tracy is the dependable backup who earns short stretches of action. Breida is a high-ceiling option whose value is tied to availability. The rest of the group is special-teams and rotational depth. The depth chart itself is more of a placeholder than a roadmap, and anyone treating it like a rigid hierarchy is going to misread how the snaps actually fall during the season.
