The New York Giants decided to move on from star running back Saquon Barkley this off-season, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, staying in the NFC East and joining his former rival.
In his place, the Giants went with a more cost-efficient player in Devin Singletary, a 26-year-old who signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal.
The Giants Are Getting Great Value at a Fraction of the Cost
Singletary’s contract included $9.5 million guaranteed at signing and has an out after the 2025 season that would count $1.25 million in dead money but save the Giants $5.25 million for the 2026 season.
Singletary may not have the explosive upside that Barkley contains, but he’s a solid player in his own right. The former third-round pick by the Buffalo Bills recorded 986 yards on the ground this past season with the Houston Texans, including five touchdowns and one fumble. He split time with Texans’ second-year back Dameon Pierce, but the Giants know Singletary from his days in Buffalo, and he has a high-end motor and good cutting qualities to break tackles and churn out extra yards.
Last season, Singletary produced 686 yards after contact, including 2.88 per attempt. Comparably, Barkley produced 2.91 yards after contact per attempt, so the difference there isn’t significant.
In fact, Singletary produced 13 designed rushing attempts of more than 15 yards, whereas Saquon only produced 12. Of course, the difference in offensive line performance played a big part in that equation. Still, Singletary shouldn’t be overlooked, especially since he’s being paid less than half of what Saquon is making in Philadelphia.
In fact, one anonymous executive told The Athletic that Singletary will “produce as much as Saquon did for them at a fraction of the cost.”
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Focusing on Positional Value
Running back isn’t considered a spot with high positional value, and the Giants also took a similar approach at free safety, letting Xavier McKinney walk and landing a deal with the Green Bay Packers.
Instead, they used the money retained to sign Brian Burns to a long-term contract after acquiring him via trade from the Carolina Panthers. The strategy this off-season has been investing in positions with high value, which is a smart path to take on paper.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants spend a mid-round pick on a running back to pair with Singletary. A recent report suggested that they could be targeting Trey Benson out of Florida State, who has elite contact balance and good production during his final year in college football.