Why Shane Vereen Could Be One of the NFL's Biggest Breakout Stars of 2015

When you ask fans to start rattling off names of the offensive stars for the New York Giants, odds are quarterback Eli Manning will be the first name you hear. After all, the 34-year-old has twice led the Giants to victory in the Super Bowl.

Or maybe they would mention wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who went from just another rookie wide receiver to instant superstar in the span of a few moments last November.

Yeah, the kid can catch.

However, in 2015 a new name could be set to join that duo, a player who appears in line for the sort of breakout season that could get the Giants back into the playoffs for the first time since their last Super Bowl run in 2011.

Manning's expiring contract and Beckham's balky hamstring may have hogged most of the headlines of late, but running back Shane Vereen has quietly been turning heads in OTAs. Jordan Ranaan of NJ.com certainly came away impressed with Vereen's performance, writing that: "He caught pass after pass out of the backfield, in particular in the red zone. He's going to be a big part of the offense."

It isn't the first time that Vereen, who joined the Giants in free agency after four seasons with the New England Patriots, has gotten some run recently. As Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reported, head coach Tom Coughlin has been impressed with what he's seen from Vereen so far.

"He's a very positive young man who's happy to be here and looks forward to contributing," Coughlin said. "When we brought him in, we thought, 'Here's a guy that catches the ball out of the backfield and would be another obvious weapon that would have to be defended.'"

As Coughlin mentioned, Vereen made his bones in Beantown catching the ball out of the backfield, logging a career-best 52 catches in 2014.

Vereen ranked 10th in the NFL among running backs in receiving last year, according to Pro Football Focus. He also ranked seventh in PFF's Yards Per Route Run metric, which "takes into account the number of snaps a player went into a pattern, providing a better indicator of production than Yards per Reception or even Yards per Target."

However, as Graziano pointed out, catching the rock isn't the only area where Vereen can be of help in the passing game:

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It's not that (Rashad) Jennings can't handle pass-protection or blitz pickup duties, it's that Vereen is known to be extremely good at it. Add in the fact of Jennings' persistent health issues, and it's not hard to imagine the Giants wanting Vereen on the field as much as possible to aid in the success of the passing game and the survival of Eli Manning. It's early, but it's something to file away.

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There's also the matter of the new offense Vereen finds himself in. Ben McAdoo's scheme relies heavily on the no-huddle, an area where Vereen's versatility, ability to line up out wide and pass-blocking acumen could come in handy.

And let's be frank (or Shane, as the case may be); the backs "ahead" of Vereen on the depth chart aren't exactly world-beaters.

Yes, Jennings is a capable running back in most facets of the game. He's also not much more than capable in any facet of the game. Jennings averaged fewer than four yards a carry in 2014, has never topped 1,000 yards on the ground and he's missed time in all five of his NFL seasons.

Sure, second-year pro Andre Williams led the team in rushing a year ago. But Williams showed little burst and even less vision in averaging a paltry 3.3 yards per carry. Among qualifying tailbacks, Williams was the ninth-worst ball-carrier in the NFL last year, per PFF.

By weight of comparison, Vereen (the so-called "receiving back") topped four yards a pop on his career-best 96 carries for the Pats in 2014.

It's a perfect storm. A talented young player whose skill set meshes perfectly with McAdoo's offense. Players in front of him who don't exactly bring about comparisons to Tiki Barber.

Will Vereen lead the Giants in carries in 2015? Probably not unless injuries start mounting.

Could Vereen emerge as the Giants' most important back, a key contributor to a return to the postseason for Big Blue? Absolutely.

In fact, if early reports are any indication, that's exactly what Vereen is going to do.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPSharks.