2024 Draft Day 3 analysis: Giants select TE Theo Johnson, RB Tyrone Tracy, and LB Darius Muasau

2024 Draft Day 3 analysis: Giants select TE Theo Johnson, RB Tyrone Tracy, and LB Darius Muasau

It’s been a long day to end a long 2024 NFL Draft process. We have the newest New York Giants after the third day of the draft.

The Giants continued to fill needs with their final three selections. They started the day by addressing their tight end depth with Theo Johnson before filling out their running back depth chart with Tyrone Tracy. GM Joe Schoen drafted athletes at both positions, and both players have high upside and could be weapons right away.

They finished off the afternoon by picking linebacker Darius Muasau from UCLA to help out a special teams unit that was an adventure to say the least (and be as kind as possible).

Round 4, 107th overall – Theo Johnson, TE, Penn State

[Prospect Profile]

The Giants added a versatile and incredibly athletic tight end to their roster with this pick. Johnson took the scouting Combine by storm with a 4.57 second 40-yard dash and 39½-inch vertical leap at 6-foot-6, 259 pounds.

The Giants are still awaiting clarity on Darren Waller’s retirement decision, and the selection of Johnson can give them insurance for this year as well as depth for the future.

Johnson is a reliable and versatile blocker who can “lose slow” as an in-line tight end, as well as win in space. His size and athleticism also give him intriguing upside as a receiver. He does a good job of making himself available as a check-down target and his speed makes him a downfield threat. Johnson didn’t have many catches at Penn State, just 77 on his career, but his 6-foot-6 frame, 33-inch arms (with 10 ¹⁄₄ inch hands), and 39 ¹⁄₂ inch vertical gives him an absolutely massive catch radius when he extends.

The Giants have suffered for lack of tight end depth over the last two years, and Johnson will give them the kind of versatile depth they have been missing. He should be a good back-up to Daniel Bellinger and give the Giants a versatile and athletic 12-personnel set.

Round 5, 166th overall – Tyrone Tracy, RB, Purdue

The Giants finally got their running back, selecting the athletic and versatile runner from Purdue. Tracy only has average size for the position at 5-foot-11, 209 pounds, but he’s got an explosive lower body with a 40-inch vertical and 10-foot-4 broad jump. He’s also very agile and can juke defenders before exploding through the hole.

Tracy is an older player who started his college career in 2018. He spent the first four years of his college career as a wide receiver for the Iowa Hawkeyes before transferring to Purdue in 2022. Tracy only has one season (2023) as a full-time running back, but he has great vision and plenty of competitive toughness. He has great vision and contact balance, and should be able to generate yards when he finds a glimmer of daylight. His background as a receiver means that he’s also used to running routes and should be a weapon out of the backfield.

Tracy also has return upside, with 16 returns in 2023, including one for a touchdown.

Tracy is an older rookie who will turn 25 during the season, however he should have a lot of tread on his tires. He’s only had 259 touches over the course of his six years in college, and just 146 of those touches have been carries.

Tracy will compete with the likes of Eric Gray and Gary Brightwell, but has a real chance to emerge as the Giants’ second running back behind Devin Singletary.

Round 6, 187th overall – Darius Muasau, LB, UCLA

The Giants went back to the defensive side of the ball with their sixth-round pick, adding another player to their front seven. Muasau is undersized and isn’t particularly athletic, but he’s experienced and highly productive.

Muasau is another older prospect, starting his college career in 2019 at Hawaii, where he played for three years before transferring to UCLA in 2022. He’s been durable, playing 61 games combined across his five-year collegiate career.

Muasau has an impressive 436 total tackles to go with 40.0 tackles for a loss and 16.5 sacks. He also has 6 forced fumbles, 5 interceptions, and 14 passes defensed. I’ll admit, Muasau (and linebacker in general) wasn’t really on my radar this year after the strides the Giants took with Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden, and Isaiah Simmons.

Lance Zierlein had this to say about Muasau:

Linebacker with muscular build and an unrelenting desire to chase after the football. Muasau plays with a phenomenal motor and has the instincts and recognition to get the jump on blocking schemes. He plays with good initial quickness but lacks extended pursuit speed in space. He will take shots downhill to spoil the action, but teams will have to live with missed tackles and inconsistent leverage in his pursuit. Muasau can handle some basic short-zone coverage but could get in trouble if the coverage expands into larger spaces. He has the potential to make the back end of a roster as a late-round pick or priority free-agent addition.

If Muasau makes the 53-man roster, it will be on special teams. Those are, of course, important, and a player with discipline, great instincts, and competitive toughness is always welcome. He’ll be competing with Darian Beavers, Dyontae Johnson, and Carter Coughlin.