New York Giants don’t trust Andre Williams on passing downs

New York Giants running back Andre Williams has shown plenty of rushing ability as a rookie, even if he’s averaged a meager 3.1 yards per carry. Rashad Jennings is clearly the team’s bellcow back, and he’s the more impressive RB from an efficiency standpoint, as well as on passing downs. Jennings has been exactly what the Giants envisioned when they signed him this offseason, and the former Oakland Raiders RB has hit his stride behind some terrific blocking from the Giants offensive line, which has had quite the turn-around.

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Williams’s usage rate has spiked recently due to an injury to Jennings, and he’s crossed the goal-line once in each of the team’s past two games. He turned 15 carries into 66 yards in the Week 4 Thursday Night Football blowout win over the Washington Redskins before totaling 22 touches (but not doing much on them) against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Giants will take on the Philadelphia Eagles tomorrow night, and it will be interesting to see how many carries Williams gets with Jennings out with an MCL sprain. According to ESPN NFL Nation’s Dan Graziano, what we do know is that the Giants clearly don’t trust Williams in the passing game, so Peyton Hillis, who is excellent in pass pro and as a pass-catcher, could receive plenty of third-down reps.

Per Graziano, the Giants don’t seem to “trust” the Boston College rookie in pass protection, which is something Tom Coughlin is always critical of when it comes to rookie running backs. Graziano also reports that the team isn’t a fan of Williams’s receiving, which was clearly an issue in his college days. He’s tried to improve in that regard, but he’s probably one of the lousiest pass-catching RBs in the league, as evidenced by his two drops on just six targets. Williams should carry the load against the Eagles as a rusher, but don’t expect him to do anything in the passing game. This game could become a shootout, so that puts a cap on Williams’s fantasy upside.