Last year’s New York Giants were a sad group offensively. Quarterback Daniel Jones (knee) played just six games before tearing his ACL — further neutering an already shaky passing game — leaving running back Saquon Barkley as the only needle mover. Defenses knew that, too, keying on Barkley, who did his best to make chicken salad, turning 288 touches into 1,242 yards and 10 of the team’s 25 offensive TDs.
Unfortunately for the G-Men, Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, leaving general manager Joe Schoen to try and piece things together with an running backs room of veteran Devin Singletary and a pair of fifth-round picks in Eric Gray (2023) and Tyrone Tracy Jr. (2024). Further eroding the outlook for this group is Schoen’s desire to get a read on Jones. Can he stay healthy? Can he excel with what they hope is a true No. 1 wide receiver in sixth overall pick Malik Nabers? Is he the guy?
Managing Jones was the order of the day since head coach Brain Daboll arrived, but it sounds like they’ll be looking at 2024 as an audition to see if Jones is their quarterback of the future. With that in mind, let’s look at New York’s options at running back.