New York Giants may have a gem in late-round RB Gary Brightwell

The New York Giants and general manager Dave Gettleman did something that Gettleman had personally never done before in the 2021 NFL Draft: trade down.

Gettleman traded down from his 11th overall spot to the 20th overall spot with the Chicago Bears so the Bears could take Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.

Here’s what he came away with in a deal where obviously he didn’t feel like he was getting “fleeced”:

• 20th overall pick (2021)
• 164th overall pick (2021)
• 2022 1st-round pick
• 2022 4th-round pick

Not a bad haul to move down just nine spots.

After maneuvering around the board and even using that 164th overall pick to trade up in the third round of the draft, Gettleman ended up with a fairly modest six selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, including two in the sixth round.

One of his sixth-round picks was spent on former Arizona running back Gary Brightwell, a player whose statistics certainly don’t scream “draft this guy”.

Brightwell only carried the ball 245 times in total at Arizona, catching 19 passes and racking up 10 total touchdowns. He played on every unit on special teams and showed off his versatility by opening his time with the Wildcats as a slot receiver.

Unfortunately, Brightwell had five fumbles in the 2020 season alone, the only year in which he had 100 total touches offensively.

Still, the New York Giants saw the bright spots in Brightwell’s game and the work he did on special teams and deemed him worthy of being picked in the sixth round.

Brightwell showed off some impressive explosiveness in his time at Arizona. He ran just a 4.58 at the Arizona pro day, but his tape shows a one-cut player who is much more explosive than that.

When Brightwell has a full head of steam, he is hard to take down with his strong 5-foot-11, 218-pound frame.

Although his immediate impact with the New York Giants will obviously be on special teams, he has a chance to open up the season as a possible RB3 for the team with RB2 upside as soon as the 2021 season. His top competition right away will be former Broncos and Raiders running back Devontae Booker.

Considering Brightwell’s ability to catch passes out of the backfield as well as his fresh legs coming out of the college ranks probably bode well for him to rise on the Giants’ depth chart sooner than later.

If he can clean up his ball security issues, he could be a steal for the New York Giants.