No. 23 – New York Giants | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. | February 28, 1999||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 218 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Maryland) | ||||||||||||
College: | Arizona (2017–2020) | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2021 / Round: 6 / Pick: 196 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Gary Brightwell Jr. (born February 28, 1999) is an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). [1] [2] [3] [4] He played college football at Arizona.
Gary graduated in 2017 from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. His senior season he served as team captain and was First-team all-conference and first-team All-State MIAA. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry as a senior rushing for 519 yards and eight touchdowns on 78 carries. [5]
In his time at Arizona, Brightwell rushed for over 1,300 yards and had nine rushing touchdowns. [6]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 10+3⁄4 in (1.80 m) |
218 lb (99 kg) |
31 in (0.79 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.58 s | 1.62 s | 2.62 s | 4.48 s | 7.51 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) |
9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
17 reps | |
All values from Pro Day [7] [8] [9] |
Brightwell was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round, 196th overall, of the 2021 NFL Draft. [10] On May 13, 2021, Brightwell officially signed with the Giants. [11] On December 30, 2021, Brightwell was placed on injured reserve after suffering a neck injury. [12]
Brightwell had his first career rushing touchdown in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers in the 27–22 victory. [13] In the 2022 season, Brightwell appeared in all 17 games. He totaled 31 carries for 141 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. [14]
Brightwell entered the 2023 season third on the running back depth chart. He suffered a hamstring injury in Week 7 and was placed on injured reserve on October 28, 2023. [15]
Brightwell's father was murdered at a gas station when Brightwell was five months old, his older sister was killed in a car crash when he was a senior in high school and his grandmother who taught him how to play football died just weeks before the NFL draft. [16]