Rookie SWOT: Wayne Gallman

Bruce Matson Posted On May 24, 2017

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Name: Wayne Gallman

Position: Running Back

Pro Team: New York Giants

College Team: Clemson Tigers

Draft Status: Round Four, No. 140 Overall

Video Highlights

Combine Review

Height: 6’0’’
Weight: 215 Pounds
Hands: 9 1/8’’
Arm Length: 32 5/8’’
Bench Press (225 LBS): 21 Reps
40-Yard-Dash: 4.60 Seconds
3-Cone-Drill: 7.17 Seconds
20-Yard-Shuttle: 4.28 Seconds
Vertical Jump: 29.5 Inches
Broad Jump: 120 Inches

Strengths

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He’s a jack-of-all-trades due to his ability to run between the tackles and catch the ball out of the backfield. Gallman is a three-down grinder who tries to maximize his opportunities with every touch by using maximum effort and natural power to try to pick up extra yardage at the end of every run. He’s a slasher who can cut on a dime to avoid defenders. Due to his bruising running style, he can be utilized as a short yardage or goal line back. He runs with power and can generate enough inertia to run through arm tackles with ease.

Gallman was very productive in college, rushing for 3,416 yards and 34 touchdowns during his career. In his last two seasons, he displayed a nose for the end zone by rushing for 30 touchdowns. He also proved that he can handle the load as a workhorse back by receiving over 200 carries in both his sophomore and junior seasons.

Weaknesses

Previously, I mentioned he was a jack of all trades, but unfortunately, he is also a master of none. There’s not one character trait that separates him from any other running back in this draft class. He doesn’t have homerun-hitting speed nor the short-area quickness to shake defenders out of their shoes.

Although, he’s a very decisive runner and does a very good job at being patient by allowing his blocker to create the running lanes before making his move. He will, however, try to stretch plays beyond his capabilities, causing him to get tackled for a loss of yardage, and his 5.1 yards per carry average is a reflection this.

His pad level is inconsistent at the point of contact, allowing defenders to get under his pads and drive him back for an easy tackle. While making his move towards the line of scrimmage he will often have an upright approach with his body, hindering his ability to drop his pad level before contact.

Opportunities

Gallman was drafted to a team that averaged just 3.5 yards per carry during the previous season, which means he may receive an opportunity at the lion share of the carries early in his career if none of the other running backs on the roster improve from the previous season and take a strangle hold of the starting running back duties.

The Giants have one of the most explosive offenses in the league, which is led by Eli Manning, one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the league. The team also has one of the best receiving corps, with Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard, Brandon Marshall and Evan Engram running routes and catching passes. It’s safe to say Gallman won’t be seeing many stacked boxes while playing with the Giants.

Threats

There’s a lot of middling running back talent on the roster that could potentially prevent him from being the lead ball carrier in this backfield. Shane Vereen is a grizzled veteran who is rock solid at catching passes out of the backfield. Paul Perkins was the team’s fifth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and is projected to be the team’s starting running back going into training camp. Shaun Draughn has bounced around the league and played for numerous teams, but he has enough talent to syphon away some of the carries, decreasing opportunities for Gallman.

I previously stated that the Giants have a lot of talent at wide receiver, which could become a massive threat to Gallman’s workload in the passing game, because there will be just a limited number of targets for him to receive. Also, the team will be more likely to rely on their strengths and be more of a pass first offense.

Short-Term Expectations

The first few years of his career will test the patience of a lot of fantasy owners because there’s a good chance he will be stuck in a committee splitting touches with a handful of running backs. It’s quite possible that he will average around five to eight touches per game to start his rookie season. The roster is log jammed at running back and the coaching staff should allow all the running backs on the roster a chance to prove their worth in the backfield.

Long-Term Expectations

If everything goes as planned, Gallman will eventually fight off the other backs on the depth chart and become the main ball carrier for the Giants. It’s quite possible that the Giants will maintain their committee approach, limiting all chances of him ever become a top tier fantasy asset. He has the potential to be a mid-level RB2 once he’s fully developed and is comfortable playing in New York’s offense. It’s not outside the realm of possibilities that he out plays all of the running backs on the roster, develops a hot hand early in his career and becomes the team’s bell cow running back.

NFL Comparison

Athletically, he is very comparable to BenJarvus Green-Ellis, former running back for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots. They both have very similar running styles, as both backs are typical power backs who are very determined and will try to run over defenders to pick up extra yardage at the end of their runs.

Green-Ellis rushed for 3,914 yards and 42 touchdowns during his career with two season with over 1,000 yards rushing. It’s very possible that Gallman could finish his career with similar results since he will need to own a large market share of the volume within the offense to be fantasy relevant, which is what Green-Ellis needed during his career to be a difference maker in fantasy leagues.

Projected Range for Rookie Drafts

According to DLF’s Rookie ADP, Gallman is going anywhere between the late second to the early third round in rookie drafts with a 26.22 ADP. He is usually on average the 11th running back off the board in drafts. This year’s draft class was stacked with a lot of talented running back prospects, causing productive runners like Gallman to fall through the cracks and become less than superior options in rookie drafts. He would usually be a mid to early second round pick in any other rookie draft class.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.