*RB Wayne Gallman continues to impress in his rookie season with the Giants: *
It's time to start talking about Wayne Gallman.
Despite Orleans Darkwa getting the official start in 10 consecutive games, Gallman, the Giants' rookie fourth-round draft choice, has taken over recently. Over the last two weeks, he leads the Giants backfield in rushing attempts (20), rushing yards (98), targets (16), receptions (13) and receiving yards (80). His 13 catches are tied with wide receiver Sterling Shepard for the most on the team in that span.
On Sunday against the Eagles, Gallman led the way with eight carries for 39 yards, in addition to six catches for 40 yards. Gallman has yet to find the end zone as a rusher, while his only career score to date came on a four-yard pass in his NFL debut in Week 4. His long play is a 15-yard catch, but according to Pro Football Focus, no Giants running back has forced more missed tackles (19) than Gallman this season.
"Yeah, I thought Wayne's been making some plays," quarterback Eli Manning said after the Eagles game. "Runs hard, had a couple nice runs [on Sunday], had some nice catches, making some guys miss. So being creative, keep finding ways for him to get some catches and we're ready for him to break a long one."
Now for a look at the rest of the rookies and how they fared against Philadelphia:
TE EVAN ENGRAM
74 offensive plays (84.1%)
9 special teams plays (28.1%)
8 receptions, 87 yards (13 targets)
1 rush, 14 yards
Engram is coming off a season-high eight receptions two weeks after recording a personal-best 99 receiving yards in Oakland. For the season, the first-round draft choice is way ahead of all rookie tight ends in receptions (63) and yards (710). He is tied with Tampa Bay's O.J. Howard for first in touchdown receptions (six).
DT DALVIN TOMLINSON
44 defensive plays (64.7%)
10 special teams plays (31.3%)
3 solo tackles
Heading into Week 15, Tomlinson was the NFL's 10th-ranked rookie by Pro Football Focus, regardless of position. He leads all rookie defensive linemen with 43 tackles.
LB CALVIN MUNSON
25 defensive plays (36.8%)
16 special teams plays (50.0%)
1 solo tackle
Kelvin Sheppard and B.J. Goodson played the majority of the snaps a week after Munson, against Dallas, made his fourth start. Goodson, however, had to leave again with an ankle injury, which could mean more time for Munson this week. The undrafted rookie from San Diego State has filled up the stat sheet in his first season with 56 tackles, 2.0 sacks, four tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
OT CHAD WHEELER
3 offensive plays (3.4%)
5 special teams plays (15.6%)
After starting three consecutive games at right tackle, Wheeler, who suffered a concussion in Week 13, dressed but did not play in Week 14 against the Cowboys. Bobby Hart remained in the starting lineup.
DE AVERY MOSS
3 defensive plays (4.4%)
6 special teams plays (18.8%)
1 solo tackle
Since Olivier Vernon returned from injury, snaps have been hard to come by for Moss. Interim coach and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would like to get him more involved, but said, "It gets hard during the course of a game saying, 'OK, 90 (Jason Pierre-Paul) and 54 (Vernon), you come out.' We'll keep trying to do it. Avery got in there. I thought he had a really good rush on one play that helped the ball come out a little bit quicker. We'll keep trying to do that."
FB SHANE SMITH
1 offensive play (1.1%)
21 special teams plays (65.6%)
Despite playing only nine games, Smith is seventh on the team with 149 special teams snaps. However, he has yet to touch the ball on offense.
