The New York Giants, under the direction of head coach Brian Daboll, have both exceeded and fallen short of fans’ expectations. In 2022, the Giants unexpectedly went 9-7-1 and defeated the Minnesota Vikings on the road in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Daboll won Coach of the Year honors. However, the Giants followed up 2022 by only winning six games. Key players went down with injuries and coordinators were fired. Amidst the chaos, Giants fans knew one thing. Pro-Bowl running back Saquon Barkley was one of the most feared playmakers in the NFL. However, this year, the G-Men backfield will look radically different. Barkley signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s up to former Houston Texans running back Devin Singletary and others to try to fill Barkley’s massive cleats. What can Giants’ fans expect from this new running backs room?
Giants Will Try to Replace Barkley With Committee of Running Backs
For all of Saquon Barkley’s talent, he had a frustrating tenure with Big Blue. Yes, he could make a big play every time he touched the ball. However, with that explosiveness came a lot of negative yardage and injuries. You can understand why General Manager Joe Schoen did not want to break the bank long-term for Barkley.
Singletary was drafted in the third round of the 2019 draft and played in the Daboll/Bills offense for three seasons. Last season, he joined the Houston Texans, rushing for 898 yards, with an added 193 receiving yards. Singletary’s 246 touches in 2023 were a career high. By comparison, Barkley surpasses that number in four of his five full seasons, twice getting 352 touches.
The biggest difference between Barkley and Singletary is their roles in an offense. To date, Singletary has been a complimentary running back in good offenses. On most weeks, Barkley was the Giants’ offense. It’s a big reason Singletary got a reasonable $16.5 million contract from the Giants, versus the $37.75 million deal Barkley signed with the Eagles. The Giants are hopeful Singletary will remain injury-free for the season and lead the running game.
First and Second Year Running Backs
In addition to Singletary, the Giants running backs room could include a duo of newcomers in their offensive game plan. Second-year running Eric Gray, along with rookies Dante Miller and Tyrone Tracy Jr. will be battling for more carries and a bigger role in the Giants offensive attack.
After Week 1 of the preseason, Gray looks like a different player from his 2023 rookie campaign. He scored the Giants’ two touchdowns against the Detroit Lions, including an ankle breaking 48-yard touchdown in the second quarter of the game.
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Undrafted rookie Dante “Turbo” Miller led the Giants in Week 1 with 12 rushing attempts and 63 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt. Daboll has been asked if the team can withstand the loss of its most potent offensive weapon. He told Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, “You just let them play.” “That’s what they need to do. We’ve talked about this. I think I’ve had a lot of questions on that early on about the youth of that room. You let them play.”
Beware of Injuries
This week, the Giants are breathing a sigh of relief. Talented rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. was taken off the practice field on a cart and air cast after suffering an ankle injury fielding a kickoff. Initially the injury looked serious, but the Giants diagnosed him with only a low ankle sprain. LWOS Giants writer Andrew Gold wrote more about the Tracy Jr. injury this week.
To give themselves more options in the backfield, the Giants signed fifth year running back Josh Kelley on Thursday, 8/15.
2024 Outlook
It appears the New York Giants like the depth in their new running backs room. Plus, there’s a chance the Giants coaches were tired of Barkley’s all or nothing running style. Daboll also told the Post about his running backs’ performances in Week 1, “I thought they [running backs] were decisive,” Daboll said. “I thought there wasn’t a lot of stutter-stepping. I thought they were hitting the hole with good vision. They ran in space. They did a nice job for the first game.’’
Was Barkley hesitant at the line of scrimmage occasionally? Yes. Does Daboll prefer backs that make one cut and get downhill? Yes. But make no mistake, Barkley’s production will be hard to replace.
Main Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
