There is no way the Rams could have foresaw what Kyren Williams would do for them in 2023 based on what he did for them in 2022.

Keep this in mind when considering what a wasteful and negligible rookie season Eric Gray is completing with the Giants and what might await him in 2024.

This is the time of the season when teams need to start projecting what they have and what they need. Is there any way the Giants can predict what they have in Gray? At this time last year, was there any way the Rams could know what they had in Williams?

In 2022, Williams got into 10 games for the Rams, and though his workload was heavier than what Gray experienced with the Giants this season, it wasn’t by much. Williams had 139 yards on 35 rushing attempts and caught nine passes for 76 yards. He did not score a touchdown as a rookie.

But Williams has been a revelation in his second NFL season, with 1,144 rushing yards in just 12 games. He is averaging five yards per carry. He has run for 12 touchdowns after he took three into the end zone against the Giants on New Year’s Eve as the Rams beat the Giants, 26-25.

In that game, Gray saw just six snaps on offense, recording one rushing attempt for two yards and one reception for one yard.

Primarily used as a punt returner to start the season (a role he failed to maintain after some ball-security issues), Gray has compiled 14 rushing attempts in 12 games for 29 yards and five receptions for 13 yards. Again, negligible.

Where are we going with this?

Even the most ardent Giants supporter cannot have much positive to say or think about what Gray has accomplished 16 games into his rookie year. He was taken in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft after a solid college career split between Tennessee and Oklahoma — not exactly rinky-dink programs. And while there are many positions where it is extremely difficult for rookies to make an impact, running back is not one of those positions.

Williams was a fifth-round pick one year before Gray, joining the league after back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons at Notre Dame. Williams, after more sitting than playing as a rookie, has become one of Sean McVay’s most trusted offensive weapons.

“He did a great job,” McVay said after the win over the Giants. “I mean, they were — I’ve got to go look at the number, but I think it was 80-85 percent of the game they were pressuring us, and that’s difficult for the guys up front in run game and stuff like that, so I thought our guys up front did a heck of a job. Kyren was patient, it wasn’t like every single run was ripping for 8, 9, 10 yards. I thought he did a great job of just picking and choosing his spots, and when we got down there in the red zone, man, just putting it in for us.’’

Williams finished with 20 carries and 87 yards against the Giants. The Rams would not have clinched an NFC playoff berth without his contributions.

Can Gray have a similar ascension in his second season?

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It is essential for teams to get production out of their mid-to-late-round draft picks, and that has been a failing of the Giants for years. The regime headed by general manager Joe Schoen has two drafts on its résumé, and the Day 3 picks (rounds 4-7) are a mixed bag, acknowledging that factoring in this year’s rookie class is a case of premature evaluation.

Out of the 2022 class, it looks as if the Giants did well with linebacker Micah McFadden (fifth round) and found a useful complementary player in tight end Daniel Bellinger (fourth round).

Out of the 2023 class, there is not much from the late picks thus far.

Remember back in the summer, when cornerback Tre Hawkins (sixth round) was a big story as he emerged as an opening day starter? That lasted three games. More recently, Hawkins has logged two defensive snaps in the past five games, and tellingly he was not given a single snap on defense in the loss to the Rams, despite fellow rookie Deonte Banks missing his first game of the season with a shoulder injury. The coaching staff opted for undrafted 25-year-old Nick McCloud over Hawkins.

Gray is not some luxury pick here. There is a decent chance he is the only running back on the current roster who will return in 2024. Saquon Barkley’s one-year contract is set to expire, and it is certainly plausible he plays his final game in a Giants uniform this Sunday against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium.

Consider this: The Giants and Barkley could not come to a long-term agreement when Barkley was coming off a career-high 1,312 rushing yards, the Giants were a playoff team and Barkley stayed healthy for an entire season for the first time in his NFL career. That is why the Giants put the franchise tag on him.

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This season, Barkley missed three games due to a sprained ankle and is struggling to the finish line with 916 rushing yards. He turns 27 on Feb. 9 and has more tread on his tires than he did a year ago, when he had more bargaining power. He is not in a position to command a big deal, and there is no indication the Giants are inclined to give him one.

Veteran Matt Breida also is set to be a free agent.

Put it all together and there is a good chance the running back room will look a whole lot different in 2024. Gray will be a part of it. How much of it remains to be seen.

If he can do for his team in his second season what another fifth-round pick, Williams, is doing for the Rams this season, it will have been worth the wait for the Giants.

What a difference a year makes.

The Giants start 2024 preparing to face the Eagles in a game that means nothing to the Giants, who are already eliminated from playoff contention.

The Giants opened up the calendar year of 2023 by resting Daniel Jones and alerting Tyrod Taylor, the backup quarterback, that he would not get the start in last season’s Week 18 regular-season finale in Philadelphia. Instead, it would be Davis Webb. It was a parting gift for Webb as he was set to end his fringe NFL playing career and head into coaching (he currently is the Broncos’ quarterbacks coach).

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A year ago, with the Giants already locked into their playoff seed, coach Brian Daboll opted to sit most of his starting players in the finale in what resulted in a 22-16 loss at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles actually went with most of their starters. Nick Sirianni knew his team had clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs and wanted a final tuneup for his main guys before the start of the postseason action.

These were sound decisions by both coaches. The Giants won their wild-card playoff game the next weekend in Minneapolis, the Eagles charged to the Super Bowl — smashing the Giants along the way in an NFC divisional playoff game.

One year later, the Eagles are staggering to the finish, losers of four of their past five games, and Sirianni is talking about possibly resting some of his starters on Sunday at MetLife Stadium even though the Eagles are alive for the NFC East title.

They no longer control their destiny, though.

If the Cowboys beat the Commanders at FedEx Field, the Cowboys win the division and the Eagles are the No. 5 seed in the NFC. If Dallas is upset, the Eagles clinch the NFC East by beating the Giants. Both games will kick off at 4:25 p.m., so it figures both the Cowboys and Eagles need to play it straight. That Sirianni is considering not using all of his starters sounds like coach-speak that will not materialize into reality.

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Daboll won the NFL Coach of the Year award for his work in his head coaching debut in 2022. Sirianni earned plaudits for taking the Eagles to the Super Bowl before a narrow loss to the Chiefs.

A year later, Daboll has a losing team and Sirianni’s club has fallen fast, from 10-1 to 11-5, no longer considered the favorite in the conference.

It has fallen so far so fast for Sirianni that there is some simmering buzz that his job could be in danger if the Eagles do not make a playoff run.

“No, I don’t think about those things,” Sirianni said Tuesday on WIP radio. “I try to stay where we are right now. How we play good football this week against the Giants, how do we fix some of the things that we got going on right now. That’s where my focus is, and that’s where I’ll be obviously the rest of this week.”

Yes, how things can change in one year’s time.

Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:

What will the atmosphere be like at MetLife Stadium for the final game?

Well, if you are a Giants fan and you are not fond of hearing “Fly, Eagles Fly’’ whenever the Eagles score, you are advised to stay home or to attend the game wearing earplugs.

There were plenty of empty seats as the Rams came into MetLife Stadium and beat the Giants, and you can bet that many of those seats on Sunday will be filled with Eagles fans making the short trip north to East Rutherford.

The Eagles have loads of incentive. The Giants, as we know, are finishing out their season and then going their separate ways. Last year was a rare departure from a scenario that has played out far too often in the last decade.

Want to catch a game? The Giants schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.

What will happen next season at right tackle?

Whatever happens, it needs to be better than what took place this season.

Evan Neal played in only seven games. He suffered two separate ankle injuries and he needs surgery to fix a fracture in his left ankle. He should be ready for training camp. It is highly doubtful he returns as the unquestioned starter, based on putting some truly bad performances on tape. Neal will get the benefit of the doubt because he was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, even though he has not played anywhere near what is expected of such a top prospect.

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His replacement this season was Tyre Phillips, who started 13 games in two seasons with the Ravens and five games in 2022 with the Giants but spent the early part of this season on the Eagles’ practice squad. It is unfortunate that Phillips, 26, went down with a serious injury to his quadriceps tendon in last week’s loss to the Rams. Following surgery, Phillips is likely to miss a chunk of the 2024 season.

The right tackle position is certainly in a state of flux.