The New York Giants are rebuilding their identity on offense after losing running back Saquon Barkley in free agency this offseason. Since being drafted by the Giants with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Barkley has been the face of the franchise in many ways. His departure left a void behind in the G-Men’s offense.
General manager Joe Schoen made moves this offseason to fill that void and make up for the loss of the team’s star rusher. He added talent to the backfield through both free agency and the draft. But do the Giants have a potential 1,000-yard rusher on their roster?
None of the Giants’ rushers have surpassed 1,000 yards in a single season before
For the past six years, the Giants have relied on Barkley to produce for them in the rushing game. When healthy, Barkley is a deadly weapon for opposing defenses to match up against. He’s totaled over 1,000 rushing yards three times in his career and nearly made it four in 2023 with 962 yards on the campaign.
Last season, 12 running backs surpassed 1,000 rushing yards across the NFL. It’s no easy feat posting a four-digit number on the stat line as a running back. But it’s doable with the proper talent and playcalling. The question is whether or not the Giants have those two factors going their way this season.
At this time, none of the team’s rostered running backs have surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in a single season before. But none of them have been lead running backs for a full regular season before either. Perhaps a breakout campaign could be on the horizon for the Giants’ lead rusher.
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Could Devin Singletary cross the threshold this year?
The Giants signed Devin Singletary to be their next lead back in free agency this spring. Singletary has familiarity with head coach Brian Daboll having spent time playing under his tutelage from 2019 to 2021 with the Buffalo Bills. At the time, Daboll was Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, and Singletary was a featured member of their running back committee.
The Giants are seemingly implementing a running back-by-committee approach this season. Singletary will be the lead back and, as a result, could potentially rush for 1,000 yards this season. Pro Football Focus projects 1,109 rushing yards from Singletary this season (h/t @MikeForcella on X).
Singletary rushed for a career-high 898 yards with the Houston Texans last season despite not taking over as the starter until Week 8. He averaged 71.5 rushing yards per game across the final 10 games of last season. Over 17 games, that average would have totaled Singletary 1,216 rushing yards.
With a full season of starts ahead of him, Singletary could realistically reach that threshold if he maintains the production he generated down the final stretch of last season. Singletary will need to stay healthy, though, and fight the running backs behind him on the depth chart from stealing snaps.
The Giants have two youngsters in second-year RB Eric Gray and rookie RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. who could push for significant playing time this year. However, neither seems prepared just yet to take on a lead role, which should be maintained by Singletary for the duration of the season. But Gray and Tracy should not be slept on. They could be excellent change-of-pace backs in the Giants’ new committee approach.
