Training camp is drawing near and the worst time of the year is slowly coming to an end. With the New York Giants ready to embark on another hopeful run toward the Lombardi Trophy, I will analyze the team and present my top 10 players on the Giants’ roster. This year’s rookies have been excluded as they bear no body of work yet in the NFL.
No. 7: David Wilson
Position: RB
Age: 22
Seasons with the Giants: One (drafted in 2012)
2012 in Review: After being taken 32nd overall by the New York Giants in the 2012 NFL draft, most knew it was only a matter of time before Virginia Tech running back, David Wilson, was going to make his presence felt.
The rookie exploded onto the scene as one of the NFL’s best kick returners, igniting a Giants’ special teams unit that had been lackluster for over a decade.
By contrast, his start as a running back did not fare quite as well. A fumble in Week 1 against the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys earned him a place in head coach Tom Coughlin’s doghouse. He carried the football just 28 times through the Giants’ first 10 games.
It wasn’t until Week 12 against the New Orleans Saints that Wilson finally demonstrated all that he had to offer.
He had the game of his life, rushing for 100 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns. Wilson added another 227 yards via kick returns, including a 99-yard touchdown. In the final four games of the season, he carried the football 43 times for 247 yards, three rushing touchdowns and a 15-yard receiving touchdown.
Wilson’s breakout performance was a pleasant sight for the Giants’ brass, who felt confident enough in his abilities to release former starting running, back Ahmad Bradshaw.
Outlook for 2013: All eyes are now on David Wilson, the second-year running back entrusted with the duty of propelling the Giants’ ground attack.
He is an electrifying athlete, capable of a highlight-reel moment on any given play. He proved it down the stretch in 2012 — starring both on kick returns and at running the ball. But the question remains… can he be depended upon to deliver as the feature back?
Wilson needs work in pass protection, but that’s the only knock on an otherwise very promising star-in-the-making. Fumbling — a concern for him coming out of college — appears to have been cured following that opening-week fumble against the Cowboys, as he has never put the ball on the turf again.
In terms of pure running skill set, Wilson is the most compelling of all the second-year backs. He boasts elite-level lateral agility with solid vision and speed; and can hit the open hole and explode into the secondary.
What’s underrated is his ability to break tackles. This is a pivotal trait that will enable him to develop into an elite running back when he is unable to depend solely on his speed for success.
The Giants are still a run-first team and they’re not going to shy away from that mentality just because they have a fresh face handling the lead at the running back position. Combined with teammate Andre Brown — who is expected to handle most third-down and red-zone opportunities — Wilson will be a key piece in a Big Blue offense that has the potential to be one of the best in the NFL in 2013.
Factor in Wilson’s prowess as a kick returner, and the 22-year-old athlete could be a very lethal weapon for the New York Giants.
Louis Musto is a reporter and sports talk host for the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.