For some members of the New York Giants, the arrival of a new head coaching staff has meant a newfound sense of trust that maybe wasn’t there under the previous staff, and with it, the potential for a larger role.
While it’s important to remember that jobs are not won or lost during the non-padded, non-contact spring practices, guys can set themselves up for bigger opportunities when training camp rolls around.
Based on what transpired during the spring, here are three Giants who so far seem to be trusted a little bit more by this coaching staff than the previous one.
RB Tyrone Tracy, Jr.
New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr.
New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr continues to be one of the most underrated players on the team, and we’re not really sure why, because he’s also been fairly productive in his two pro seasons, recording back-to-back seasons with 1,000+ scrimmage yards.
Despite that, there was a point last year in which Tracy, who began the season as the lead running back for Big Blue in their committee approach, started to lose the lion’s share of the touches to then-rookie Cam Skattebo, whose exuberant play style and hard-nosed approach to the game endeared him to scores of Giants fans.
Tracy suffered a shoulder injury in a Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, which cost him Weeks 4 and 5, and opened the door for Skattebo, the team’s fourth-round pick in 2025, to take over the bulk of the reps.
During Tracy’s absence, Skattebo carried the ball 40 times for 138 yards. When Tracy returned in Week 6 in a home game against the Eagles, he appeared to have been “Wally Pipped” from his role as the top back in the rotation.
Over the next three games, Tracy rushed 23 times for 91 yards and one touchdown, still working his way back from the shoulder injury.
Skattebo, meanwhile, ran 38 times for 170 yards and three touchdowns over that period, unofficially becoming RB1.
Skattebo has made a remarkable and rapid recovery from his season-ending broken ankle. Although he was limited in the spring, it gave Tracy a chance to get a jump start in the competition for the RB1 title, and he looked no worse for wear in the practices.
Where Tracy can potentially edge Skattebo out for the RB1 role is in pass protection. Last year, he was clearly the better of the two running backs in pass blocking, earning a 45.5 grade in 61 pass block snaps from PFF, whereas Skattebo earned an 11.6 grade in 21 such snaps.
Both players will get plenty of work in the offense, but whereas the Giants could have leaned more heavily on veteran Devin Singletary in the spring, they did not, setting up a competition between the team’s two young backs to see which emerges as the lead in the race for the future.
DL Darius Alexander
New York Giants DL Darius Alexander
New York Giants DL Darius Alexander | Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Darius Alexander worked with something more than just a clean slate this past spring: He had his health.
Whereas last year he missed the entire spring due to an undisclosed medical issue, Alexander is believed to have been there for every single OTA practice, giving him an inside edge toward a starting role on a defensive line that is going to look very different this year.
Alexander ran quite often with the first team defensive line during the spring, and looked as though he was moving faster with each passing play.
The former Toledo defender has a chance to earn the starting 3-tech role, previously held by veteran Roy Robertson-Harris, who is likely to miss the upcoming season with an Achilles injury.
Alexander will still have to hold off veterans Leki Fotu, Sam Roberts, and Shelby Harris, all of whom figure to compete for the role.
Considering how Alexander started to come on late last year once whatever injury issues were holding him back subsided, and that he mainly ran with the first team defense, it’s clear that he’s earned a lot more trust in what he brings to the table this year.
CB Deonte Banks
New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks
Jun 3, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks (2) participates in drills during organized team activities at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
It seems like only yesterday when the fan base was screaming for the Giants to send 2023 first-round draft pick Deonte Banks packing. And with good reason—last summer, Banks couldn’t hold off Cor’Dale Flott in the battle for CB2 opposite Paulson Adebo.
And so, after a few weeks in which the coaches came up with the puzzling arrangement to play Flott as their first- and second-down corner and insert Banks for third downs, Banks was completely removed from the mix, leaving Flott to handle the job.
This spring, that CB2 role is up for grabs again now that Flott has gone to the Titans. The competition includes Banks, former Browns first-round draft pick Greg Newsome II, and second-round rookie Colton Hood.
Based on the reps distribution in the spring, Banks is not only very much in the thick of the competition, but he also saw a lot of work with the first-team defense and looked good in the process.
Apparently, the new system implemented by defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is a much better fit for what Banks does well: press-man coverage, the ability to stay stride-for-stride with receivers, and run defense.
Add in the fact that the Giants declined the fifth-year option on Banks’s rookie contract, and it is a potential win-win situation for the player, who again looks as comfortable in the system as he was in Wink Martindale’s system in 2023, and the team, which gets a highly motivated player aiming to earn a significant payday when he hits free agency.
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