With John Harbaugh now in as head coach and Greg Roman as a special assistant, you can expect the New York Giants to attempt to run the football frequently and with authority.
They have a solid trio in Tyrone Tracy Jr., Devin Singletary, and Cam Skattebo, but it may not be enough for the new coaches to work with. They are expected to add at least one more back and could add a fullback, something the Giants have not formally had since 2022 (Chris Myarick).
Both Harbaugh and Roman have deployed fullbacks in their offenses over the years, and one player who they both helped develop is available in free agency come this Wednesday.
That player is Patrick Ricard, a six-time Pro Bowl fullback who played under both Harbaugh and Roman with the Baltimore Ravens. The 31-year-old Ricard is a massive 6-foot-3, 300-pound former college defensive lineman turned fullback who can open holes for the running game as well as any fullback in recent memory.
Ricard has also played tight end and defensive line for the Ravens over his nine-year career, as well as on special teams.
“I play fullback and D-line,” Ricard said in a 2019 interview with The Athletic. “It’s like, ‘No, I do both.’ And people are always kind of like, ‘Huh?’ And I say, ‘Yeah, I play both positions.'”
He is not known as a fullback who handles the football often. He has just 11 rushing attempts for 22 yards, but he has caught 49 passes for 323 yards and seven for touchdowns.
What Ricard does best is hit people and move them. He is not subtle about it, either.
“Honestly, his want and need is to hit,” said Andrew Tuccio, Ricard’s high school coach in Massachusetts, in that same 2019 interview.
“I was very fortunate. I had him and his older brother, Christian, who played at (Stony Brook). He’s a couple of years older than Patrick. The two of them, it’s like they had a button in their forehead that when they hit someone, it was like an endorphin release. They were hit junkies. They wanted to hit people.”
In Ricard’s nine years in Baltimore, the Ravens’ offense was one of the best in the NFL. They ranked in the top 10 five times and never fell further than 19th.
His physical style is contagious. The Giants could make a lot of defenses nervous with Ricard and Skattebo on the field at the same time.
