4 NFC East free agents that could take the Panthers to the next level
By Noah Bryce
Wayne Gallman – RB
- 2020 team – New York Giants
The Carolina Panthers may have a star running back in Christian McCaffrey, but last year showed just how easily that can go sour with him only suiting up for three games. While they both firmly believe he is ready to go for 2021 some insurance wouldn’t be a bad idea.
After Saquon Barkley went down with a devastating knee injury in Week 2, Wayne Gallman stepped into the starting role and did rather well for the New York Giants, gaining 682 rushing yards on the ground in 10 starts. Not necessarily eye-catching but that isn’t the point of a backup.
With two years of starting-caliber production out of Mike Davis, teams will likely be willing to pay him more than the Panthers will for a backup and while Gallman doesn’t show the dual-threat ability of McCaffrey, few other running backs do.
What he does provide, however, is a quick first cut and an uncanny shiftiness to get through blocks and past tacklers in the open field.
McCaffrey also has a ridiculous usage rate by most standards and that is something that just isn’t sustainable in today’s league. Gallman would provide a secondary, run-centric, back to bring in every once in a while to keep that usage down and prolong his career. And with his shifty style of running, it wouldn’t be too different for the blockers upfront either.
Gallman is also younger than Davis at 26-years-old and has less mileage on the tires in an era when running backs tend to hit a wall rather quickly. If the Giants don’t bring him back and the asking price isn’t too high, the Panthers could have another two-headed monster in the backfield.