It’s no secret what the New York Giants want their offense to look like in 2020. Their best player is third-year running back Saquon Barkley and from where things stand at the moment, all things start with him.
When Joe Judge took over the team earlier this year, he told reporters that the first thing this Giants team needs to do is run the football. The Giants rushed the ball only 362 times in 2019. Only the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins — two teams who were behind on the scoreboard most of the season — rushed the ball less.
The Giants were also behind on the scoreboard most weeks, losing 12 of 16 games last year, but many expect them to take a different approach to just about everything they do going forward.
When the Giants did run the ball, they ran it fairly well to the tune of 4.7 yards per attempt, which was sixth-highest in the NFL.
The high ankle sprain Barkley suffered in Week 3 ground the Giants’ rushing attack to a halt. He missed the majority of that game plus the next three. When he did return it took him another month and a half to get going again.
This year, you can expect the Giants to look to pound the rock very much like the Dallas Cowboys under Jason Garrett did with Ezekiel Elliott the past few years.
“I think you’ll see the Giants start and end with the running game,” NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell said on a recent podcast. “They clearly have one of the top two or three running backs in the league with Saquon Barkley. You have to believe Barkley will get 270 to 300 carries, so that will be the starting point of the offense.”
Cosell believes the Giants will employ fullback Eli Penny quite a bit this season. The fullback position, which had been recently seen as an antiquated position, is back in style after the rushing success of some teams last year such as the 49ers, Seahawks and Ravens.
“The use of 21 personnel, with a fullback, is something that teams are going to try to replicate because of the success of Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers last season,” said Cosell. “The Giants also have a fullback on the roster, and the Cowboys used a fullback under Jason Garrett, as well. The Giants have Eli Penny, and the fullback has sort of become back in vogue in the NFL.”
But Cosell also believes the Giants will benefit from having all of those tight ends on their roster. Expect the 12 personnel to be employed as well as the Giants have two former Stanford tight ends in the fold (Kaden Smith, Levine Toiolo).
“Stanford is a school that lines up and plays what would be viewed today as old-school football,” Cosell said. “Where they line up and run the ball in base-personnel, and Kaden Smith has that background after performing well down the stretch last season. They have the ability to line up in two-tight end sets and run the ball.”
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