The New York Giants knew they might have found a gem in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft with Purdue running back Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Tracy had an interesting college career beginning as a wide receiver at Iowa before transferring to Purdue and switching to running back.

As a result Tracy, who will turn 25 later this month, has had a lot of experience at the college level and is more mature than most rookies. He has hit the ground running (so to speak) and leads all NFL rookies in rushing with 545 yards.

Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown spoke about Tracy on The Athletic's podcast, The Playcallers, recently and how the team vetted him from every possible angle.

"We knew there would be good return on investment at the point where we could get him because the marketplace would devalue him as an older player with a limited resume," Brown said.

That limited resume, combined with the Giants' intensive scouting of Tracy, allowed him to fall into the fifth round, where Big Blue selected him with the 166th overall pick.

The record for most yards by a Giants rookie is 1,307 by Saquon Barkley (2018). Tracy is not likely to get there with seven games remaining, but anything is possible.

Tracy's recent fumble that cost the Giants a possible victory in Munich against the Carolina Panthers won't preclude them from featuring him going forward. They know what they have.

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This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Brandon Brown on Tyrone Tracy: 'We knew there would be good return on investment'