We’ve seen Tyrone Tracy operate in a lead-back role before. It happened in his rookie season due to his own performance and in his sophomore season due to Cam Skattebo’s injury.
These contrasting reasons make the New York Giants RB2 a difficult evaluation for the 2026 season. Will Tracy have standalone value, and if not, is the injury-contingent upside enough to make him worth drafting in fantasy football?
Should You Draft Tyrone Tracy in Fantasy Football?
Much like with his backfield-made, fantasy managers should always approach Day 3 players with a healthy dose of skepticism. Tracy is a former fifth-round pick, while Skattebo went in the fourth round.
As a rookie in 2024, Tracy quickly displaced Devin Singletary as the lead back because he was better at football. The Giants had no allegiance to either back, so they simply played the better one.
That same approach was evident in 2025, when the Giants drafted Skattebo. After barely playing in Week 1, Skattebo had over a 50% snap share in Week 2. By Week 3, the backfield was his. As quickly as Tracy took the job from Singletary the year before, Skattebo took it from him.
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From Week 2 until his season-ending injury in Week 8, Skattebo hit double-digit fantasy points in every game. He had three games with over 100 total yards and was around a 70% snap share in three games as well. It was his backfield.
The hope for Tracy managers was that he’d still have some standalone value, while possessing the obvious injury-contingent upside if Skattebo went down. The latter obviously happened, but the former did not.
Tracy averaged 6.5 fantasy points per game across Weeks 1-8 (six games played due to injury). After Skattebo suffered his season-ending ankle injury, Tracy started and served as the lead back the rest of the way, just as he did as a rookie. Over his final nine games, Tracy averaged 13.8 PPG.
It’s difficult to draw any conclusions about Tracy’s 10.2% target share or 51.9% opportunity share because it’s skewed by the contrast in playing time before and after Skattebo’s injury. Tracy was pretty effective on a per-touch basis, with his 3.47 yards created per touch ranking 16th at the position. But we know he’s good at football. That’s not the issue.
Tracy’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
The unfortunate part of Tracy’s talent profile is that he’s actually a pretty good player. He’s certainly talented enough to be the lead back and has proven himself multiple times. He’s just not as good as Skattebo. Therefore, much of Tracy’s fantasy value in 2026 hinges on how well Skattebo is able to play after returning from a very serious injury.
By all accounts, Skattebo will be ready for Week 1. That’s not the question. The question is how close he can get to his pre-injury form.
The 2026 Giants will look quite different. They have a new coaching staff led by John Harbaugh. Nabers is going to return, even if it’s not Week 1. Robinson is gone. Jaxson Dart is in his second season, but most importantly, his first, where he enters the offseason knowing he’s the Week 1 starter.
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Skattebo’s injury wasn’t a torn ligament or anything we typically associate with multiple years before a player is truly 100% again. However, it was very serious. His ankle twisted in the wrong direction.
While not a direct comparison, Tony Pollard and Isiah Pacheco had similar lower-leg injuries, and neither looked like himself the very next season.
It does help that Skattebo is much younger, having sustained this injury at just 23 years old. He also doesn’t rely on explosion, which should make it easier for him to do what he does even if he’s not fully confident in his ankle.
Typically, we want our fantasy assets to perform better as the season progresses, since later weeks are more important than earlier weeks. Tracy projects to be the opposite.
It’s very likely Tracy sees a larger role early in the season as Skattebo is building confidence in his ankle. Much like last year, the scales could flip more and more toward Skattebo as the season progresses.
Perhaps we get a couple of weeks of standalone RB3 value for Tracy. However, the most likely outcome is a repeat of last season, where Tracy was not worth starting while Skattebo was healthy.
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Tracy’s ADP is a very reasonable RB44. If you look at the running backs around him, most of them don’t come with the certainty of having lead-back upside if the starter goes down. Others do project for more standalone value, but no one in that range is winning any leagues or moving any needles without an injury in front of them. Tracy’s upside is arguably just as high as any of them.
I have Tracy at RB41, which is right in line with consensus. He’s not the most exciting click on the board, but there’s utility in having a guy like him on a roster. At the bare minimum, he can get you 4-5 points if you need him in a pinch, and he’s a weekly RB2 if Skattebo misses time.
Preseason Fantasy RB Rankings
- Bijan Robinson | ATL
- Jahmyr Gibbs | DET
- James Cook III | BUF
- Jonathan Taylor | IND
- Ashton Jeanty | LV
- Christian McCaffrey | SF
- Saquon Barkley | PHI
- Chase Brown | CIN
- De’Von Achane | MIA
- Derrick Henry | BAL
- Kenneth Walker III | KC
- Jeremiyah Love | ARI
- Omarion Hampton | LAC
- Javonte Williams | DAL
- Breece Hall | NYJ
- Kyren Williams | LAR
- D’Andre Swift | CHI
- Travis Etienne Jr. | NO
- Josh Jacobs | GB
- Cam Skattebo | NYG
- David Montgomery | HOU
- Bhayshul Tuten | JAX
- TreVeyon Henderson | NE
- Quinshon Judkins | CLE
- Jaylen Warren | PIT
- Bucky Irving | TB
- Jadarian Price | SEA
- Rhamondre Stevenson | NE
- Chuba Hubbard | CAR
- Kenny Gainwell | TB
- Tony Pollard | TEN
- Jordan Mason | MIN
- Rico Dowdle | PIT
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt | WAS
- Blake Corum | LAR
- RJ Harvey | DEN
- Kyle Monangai | CHI
- Rachaad White | WAS
- Chris Rodriguez Jr. | JAX
- Zach Charbonnet | SEA
- Aaron Jones Sr. | MIN
- Jonathon Brooks | CAR
- J.K. Dobbins | DEN
- Tyler Allgeier | ARI
- Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG
- Isiah Pacheco | DET
- Woody Marks | HOU
- Tyjae Spears | TEN
- Nick Singleton | TEN
- Brian Robinson Jr. | ATL
