Exactly what is going on in the New York Giants backfield?

It’s hard to really tell given how ineffective the Giants run has been, how little they’ve run the ball, and how the team has split the carries.

If you take a look at the first two games of the season, Tyrone Tracy received the bulk of the carries in the first game of the season against the Commanders, and then in the second against the Cowboys, Cam Skattebo was the lead back.

Last season, Tracy was revered around the Giants facility. The fifth round running back, who had converted from a wide receiver had a tremendous rookie season, totalling over 1,100 scrimmage yards.

And even after the Giants drafted Cam Skattebo in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, it was believed that Tracy was still going to be “the guy” with Skattebo doing the dirty work such as one-yard plays.

One has to wonder if Tracy is a victim of calling out offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. After the dreadful and embarrassing loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 1, Tracy wasn’t afraid to speak his mind to the media about establishing the run.

During Week 1, Tracy received 10 carries and barely did anything with it. Turn to Week 2 and Tracy’s carries were cut in half.

When asked about him receiving less carries as a part of a disciplinary measure, head coach Brian Daboll made it very apparent that he wasn’t and that he was being used as a kick returner instead.

In Dallas, Tracy returned the ball five times for a solid 132 yards, but regardless, it’s confusing that he had to watch his carries get cut in half just for that sole reason.

“Tracy had a number of kickoff returns that I thought you give him a break off of there,” Daboll said. “We thought we could get the ball in his hands a few more times. They weren’t kicking it to Gunner [Olszewski], they were kicking it to Tracy, and he had some good kickoff returns for us.”

Skattebo, on the other hand hauled in 11 carries for just 48 yards and a touchdown. There’s no denying the starpower that Skattebo has, as he finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting last year, with well over 2,000 scrimmage yards for Arizona State.

But what makes Tracy and Skattebo an intriguing duo in the backfield is the differences in their game. Skattebo is more of a thumper, so he can be used in more goalline work or to get an extra yard for the first down.

Tracy holds more finesse and can line up on the outside if need be.

There’s definitely a lot of confusion with this Giants roster, and it seems like the coaching staff is thinking on the fly in a lot of ways.

But one of the aspects that they need to figure out is who exactly they are riding with in the backfield. Because trading games between Tracy and Skattebo is hardly going to work.