EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Running back Saquon Barkley has done some pretty special things for the New York Giants in his first two years as a pro. It might be nothing compared to what is in store for this season.
If training camp is any indication, Barkley is in for a massive season. After producing 2,028 yards from scrimmage as a rookie with 15 touchdowns on 352 touches, his numbers dropped during an injury-plagued 2019 season. He finished with 1,003 rushing yards and 1,441 yards from scrimmage on 269 touches with eight touchdowns.
Now, he gets plugged into coordinator Jason Garrett’s running back-friendly offense under coach Joe Judge, who seems prepared to ride his top offensive playmaker to exhaustion.
The Giants’ offense is built around Barkley’s skills, and putting up numbers like Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey did last season (more than 1,000 yards rushing and receiving) or making a run at Chris Johnson’s single-season yards from scrimmage record (2,509) seems plausible.
“Certainly, he’ll be a big part of what we’re doing going forward,” Garrett said.
Garrett’s history shows he is more than willing to lean on a star running back, as nobody averaged more carries per game (20.9) over the past four seasons than Ezekiel Elliott did under Garrett with the Dallas Cowboys. Elliott even finished second among running backs with 431 routes run last season.
The passing game is where Barkley could make significant gains. Watching him run routes at practice, the mismatches are obvious. His routes are crisper than ever. His explosiveness has returned. Linebackers and safeties have no chance.
Veteran linebacker Blake Martinez accepts the challenge on a daily basis. The two have made it a habit of working together in drills (starting middle linebacker vs. starting running back) in order to better themselves. It presents quite the challenge for Barkley when it comes to pass blocking, but is equally difficult for Martinez when it’s time for one-on-one coverage drills.
Frankly, Barkley has been almost impossible to cover one-on-one in the open field this summer, looking like a wide receiver with pristine body control.
The Giants have plans to exploit these skills.
“He’s athletic and he’s got great hands. He has a great ability to run routes,” Giants running backs coach Burton Burns said. “Again, we want to involve this guy in every facet of the game.”
Giving Barkley limited reps in training camp is a preservation tactic, with an understanding of what is ahead. But the offense seems designed to get him in space as much as a possible.
That plays to Barkley’s strengths. His 13 plays of at least 50 yards the past two seasons are the most in the NFL. The only thing holding him back from putting up McCaffrey-like numbers is opportunity.
Barkley averaged 21.4 touches per game the past two seasons under former coach Pat Shurmur. Last season Elliott averaged 22.2 under Garrett and McCaffrey averaged 25.2. Part of the problem was the Giants completed 72.2% of their passes to Barkley last season. That was 30th out of 33 qualifying running backs — a number that should improve as Barkley enters his second season playing with quarterback Daniel Jones. Carolina completed 83.3% of the passes in McCaffrey’s direction last season and Dallas completed 76.1% to Elliott.
Garrett said of his offense in Dallas: “It played differently based on the people that we had. There were some years that we really emphasized the running game and we had success with that. Other years, we had a different personnel makeup and we threw the ball a little bit more.”
The Giants have some offensive weapons with pass-catching tight end Evan Engram and wide receivers Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate and Darius Slayton. But they also know none of them is Barkley. Shepard, Tate and Slayton are expected to be part of a three-man wide receiver rotation. Engram’s usage could be limited in this offense, at times, by his pedestrian blocking and a history of injuries.
So Barkley will shoulder a heavy workload. He might give way to Dion Lewis on some passing downs, but he’s going to get the bulk of the backfield touches.
The plan is to get the most out of him as he enters his prime (Years 3-5) as a running back. Barkley, 23, was doing fine after two seasons, averaging 4.8 yards per carry and 8.1 yards per reception. (McCaffrey has averaged 4.7 yards per carry and 8.3 yards per reception in his three NFL seasons.) But the Giants coaches intend to push Barkley harder, hoping it takes his game to new levels.
“Saquon’s going to be Saquon,” Shepard said. “He’s a tough runner. He’s a very elusive runner. I expect him to be him in any offense.”
This season he might even be better, health permitting, with a bigger commitment to him in this offense.