Tyrone Tracy Jr. wound up being a really solid late-round selection last season. It’s rare for fifth-round rookies to make an impact, but Tracy took over the New York Giants RB1 role from Devin Singletary. This year, Tracy is the incumbent facing a challenge from another rookie. Can Cam Skattebo do to Tracy what Tracy did to Devin Singletary, making him a fantasy football target?
Should You Draft Cam Skattebo in Fantasy?
Every year, I mostly dismiss any hype about Day 3 rookies, especially guys who went in Round 5 and later. The fantasy community loves to hype up college darlings who rarely pan out. Remember DeWayne McBride, Evan Hull, Zach Evans, and Jermar Jefferson? No? Exactly.
That’s not to say every later Day 3 running back is useless. Isiah Pacheco, Elijah Mitchell, Aaron Jones, and Chris Carson do exist. It’s more that the hits should all be considered outliers. No one should ever expect anything from later Day 3 running backs.
Last year, Tracy joined a Giants roster featuring Devin Singletary and Eric Gray as primary competition. It was a wide-open backfield. But even with the favorable situation, it took a Singletary injury to truly open the door for Tracy to take over.
Now, one year later, with Tracy still being a young up-and-comer, the fantasy community is ready to cast him aside for the next guy.
The Giants selected Skattebo in the early fourth round, earlier than where they took Tracy last season. This has led to the fantasy community pushing him up draft boards to the point where he’s just about even with Tracy.
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As a reminder, Tracy was better than his total numbers suggest last season. If you remove the first four games of the season when he was a seldom-used backup, he averaged 13.1 fantasy points per game, which would have put him at RB21 over a full season.
I think a lot of the Skattebo hype is a bit overblown. Tracy is still the starter and the better pass catcher. For him to relinquish that role without an injury would involve a very talented alternative outplaying him. Forgive me, but I don’t view Skattebo as that player.
Skattebo is a power back. At 219 pounds, he does project better at the goal line, which could be an issue. But in terms of taking the rest of the work, I don’t see it.
Skattebo ran a 4.71 40-time, giving him a speed score in the 24th percentile. Interestingly, despite his size, Skattebo was heavily used as a receiver in college, earning a 14.4% best season college target share. My concern is that his lack of speed, as well as his pass protection issues, will end up deterring coaches from using him that way in the NFL.
Unless a little-known injury is a factor, Cam Skattebo’s pass protection could limit his opportunities early.
Overextension is rampant. The impact:
– Telegraphs
– Can’t see where to strike
– Defender gets 1st contact w/hands
– Easy countersWork needed. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/meB6IEKiBr
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) February 1, 2025
With both Skattebo and Tracy present, fantasy managers are understandably not particularly confident in who will be the lead back. Therefore, both running backs have ADPs in the 30s, with Skattebo slightly behind the sophomore at RB34 vs. RB30.
I am firmly on team Tracy for the 2025 season. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a path for Skattebo. He should have some touchdown-or-bust RB4 appeal, at worst, with the potential to do better than I think and play himself into a larger role. Additionally, there’s the injury contingent upside. If Tracy were to miss time, I would expect Skattebo to see upwards of a 60% opportunity share.
I have Skattebo ranked at RB33. I acknowledge the upside, but I am not particularly excited about drafting him. There will likely be someone in every draft who is more enamored with him than me.
Dan Fornek’s Cam Skattebo Fantasy Projection
Cam Skattebo was the driving force in an Arizona State offense that surprisingly made the College Football Playoffs in 2024. In 13 games, Skattebo handled 293 carries for 1,711 yards and 21 touchdowns while adding 45 receptions for 605 yards and three touchdowns. He frequently ran through tackles with a punishing style, yet had excellent hands in the receiving game.
The New York Giants took Skattebo in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft thanks to his 4.6 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. It was an ideal landing spot for the rookie with the team looking for a bigger back that could handle the early down role as a power complement to Tyrone Tracy Jr.
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Skattebo also has enough receiving ability to turn into a workhorse if Tracy misses time due to injury. There is a chance that he dominates snaps and touches in the Giants’ backfield as a rookie. However, it is more likely that he is an early down grinder with a short yardage, goal line role. Those can be quite valuable in fantasy on the right offenses. Unfortunately, the 2025 Giants offense does not look like it will be very good.
Skattebo is a worthy stash while the team figures out the distribution of snaps and touches in the backfield. However, it is hard to imagine he will score enough touchdowns to be consistently fantasy relevant as a rookie.
