Is Tyrone Tracy Jr. or Cam Skattebo Starting for the Giants? Which New York Running Back Should You Draft in 2025?

July 30, 2025

Is Tyrone Tracy Jr. or Cam Skattebo the RB1 for the Giants? Should you draft Skattebo or Tracy in 2025 fantasy football drafts? Aidin's expert draft analysis and advice.

In 11 out of the 13 seasons from 2000 to 2012, the New York Giants had at least one running back run for over 1,000 yards. They were consistently among the best rushing teams in the league, and their rushing attack peaked in 2008, when they had two RBs (Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward) reach the 1,000-yard milestone.

However, in the last 12 seasons, the Giants have only had one RB record a 1,000-yard season (Saquon Barkley, who reached this milestone in 2018, 2019, and 2022). It's clear that the Giants' ground game is no longer what it used to be, but they do have two exciting young players who are ready to bring them back to their glory days. Sophomore Tyrone Tracy Jr. impressed in his rookie campaign last year, and polarizing rookie Cam Skattebo was drafted in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft a few months ago, off the back of an incredible season at Arizona State.

This begs the question: Which young Giants RB should you draft in 2025 fantasy football? Without further ado, let's look at the 2025 fantasy outlooks for both Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Cam Skattebo and decide which player is worth targeting in 2025.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook

After four seasons as a wide receiver for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Tyrone Tracy Jr. entered the transfer portal and transferred to the Purdue Boilermakers. He failed to impress in his first few games for his new college, but was tested out as a running back near the end of the 2022 season, as he had 10 attempts for 86 yards in the final four games of the year.

Saquon and Tyrone Tracy working out?? 👀👀 (via @saquon instagram) #NYG #Bigblue pic.twitter.com/BfuAU61P3t

— JameisMuse (@jameismuse) June 20, 2025

That experience convinced Tracy to try his luck as a full-time RB, and he excelled. He scored a touchdown in each of his first five games of the 2023 season and finished the year with 1,270 all-purpose yards.

After that great final year, Tracy was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Giants started the 2024 season with veteran Devin Singletary as their RB1, but Tracy got his big break after Singletary suffered a groin injury in practice before Week 5.

Tracy went on to start in 12 of the next 13 games, rushing for 810 yards and five touchdowns. He also added 243 receiving yards and a touchdown reception to his season tally, which helped him finish as the PPR RB16 during this span. Overall, Tracy joined Barkley as the only rookie RBs in Giants history to record over 1,000 yards from scrimmage.

He had a breakaway percentage (rushing yards in runs over 15 yards) of 31.3%, which ranked 10th among all RBs with at least 150 runs last year. He also ranked around the middle of the park in PFF's Elusive Rating (58.1).

However, the biggest weakness of Tracy's game is his ball security, or lack thereof. He had five fumbles and lost two of them, including a backbreaking turnover against the Panthers in Week 10. He also failed to catch 13.6% of his catchable and "easy" targets, which ranked him 20th amongst 21 RBs with over 50 targets last year.

It'll be interesting to see if Tracy can get over 50 targets again in 2025. Brian Daboll calls frequent passing plays for his backs, as he's had an RB with over 50 targets in nine out of his 11 seasons as a play-caller in the NFL.

Despite that, starting QB Russell Wilson has only ever had one RB with over 50 targets in a year (2023 Samaje Perine).

But now that he has a full season of experience under his belt, Tracy is widely projected to be the starter and is determined to hone his skills and work on his deficiencies. He was spotted training alongside Barkley in June, which could be a great sign of things to come.

Despite being placed on the PUP list, star LT Andrew Thomas is expected to be available for the season opener, according to GM Joe Schoen. Tracy only got to start in two games with Thomas (his first two career starts), which were among his four best games of the season, according to PFF's offensive grades.

Cam Skattebo 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook

Tracy isn't the only young RB on the Giants who was overlooked until his final year in college. Cam Skattebo only received one DI offer, which came from FCS school Sacramento State. He did more than enough to catch the eyeballs of some FBS schools, and he transferred to Arizona State in 2023.

Cam Skattebo is thriving at his 1st NFL training camp 🔱

The New York Giants got a good one. pic.twitter.com/PlIPwbJ1IU

— PHNX Sun Devils (@PHNX_SunDevils) July 25, 2025

Despite playing at a higher level, the human battering ram led the Sun Devils in rushing in his debut campaign, and exploded for 2,316 total yards and 24 touchdowns in 2024, which led to him finishing fifth in Heisman voting and being drafted in the fourth round by the Giants in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Skattebo was given a 94.6 rushing and 79.8 passing grade by PFF last year, which gave him the second-best offensive grade (93.3) among all RBs in the nation.

He has a breakaway percentage of 34.9% and finished in the top 10 of PFF's Elusive Rating stat (140.3) amongst running backs with at least 150 rushes.

Tracy's weaknesses are Skattebo's strengths. He had a catchable/easy drop percentage of just 4.3, and despite recording five fumbles, he only lost one of them in his two seasons of FBS football.

However, he doesn't have the speed of a top-tier NFL RB, and he might struggle physically dominating NFL athletes who are just as, if not stronger, than him.

Skattebo's toughness and bruising running style make him alluring, and there's a solid chance that he has a higher ceiling than Tracy. But the risk of injury is a bit too high.

Indeed, he didn't get injured too often in college, but bad things could happen if he doesn't adapt his game now that he's up against the best athletes in the world.

Who Should You Draft in 2025 Fantasy Football? 

Skattebo will likely have a solid role as a third-down back for the Giants this year. He's a good receiver who can thrive in short-yardage running situations. The Giants would be wise to let him develop slowly as he learns how to handle elite-level NFL tacklers.

Tyrone Tracy expected to get a "massive workload" next season and more usage in the receiving game next season, per Pat Leonard.

Despite Cam Skattebo being a phenomenal prospect in both rushing and receiving, all signs are pointing to Tracy being a better 'fit' for Russell… pic.twitter.com/SmZm1JVxUM

— Top1 Football (@Top1Fantasy) June 27, 2025

Tracy impressed in his rookie campaign and will probably get a big chance to prove if he's the real deal this year. He's projected to be the starter and will likely have a fair amount of rushing attempts considering the ages of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, not to mention Jaxson Dart's inexperience.

It'll be interesting to see if either RB can record 50+ targets this year. Daboll loves to involve his RBs in the passing game, but if he gets sacked midseason (which is a big possibility), Wilson's habits of not targeting his RBs can take over.

Skattebo probably has a higher long-term potential due to his unique style and commitment, but he needs to find a way to adapt to the physicality of the NFL. Tracy will be the starter, at least to begin the year, but he's a late-round fantasy pick.

Also, Andrew Thomas has played in just 16 games since 2023, and without him, the Giants arguably have the worst O-line in the league. If he gets hurt again, it'll be a devastating blow to the development of both players.

Verdict: Tracy is a solid late-round pick in redraft leagues, and both players could become solid contributors in dynasty leagues.

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