2022 Giants Position Review: Running Backs

Have you ever wondered what happened to the dynamic rushing attacks that characterized the New York Giants’ backfields during their Super Bowl years? The days when rushing the football was a strength both in the trenches and on the edge, and the team had a duo of ball carriers that could punish defenses to a 1,000+ yard campaign that put the league on notice?

After a decade of losing that luster and showcasing one of the most miserable rushing products in the entire NFL, the Giants rediscovered their crown jewel through a dual-threat dominance headlined by Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones that elevated the backfield to a top-10 unit in 2022.

The running back position’s biggest limitation for the past couple of seasons was its nagging injuries. While he had an impressive rookie debut in 2018, Barkley’s outings in 2020 and 2021 would be severely hampered by consecutive ACL and ankle ailments. Without their stud back receiving heavy handoffs, the team couldn’t get the ball rolling behind their replacements, and the offense bottomed out in overall production each season.

Last year, the Giants brought in Mike Kafka to serve as the next offensive mastermind, and with the healthy returns of Barkley and Jones, the ground game accelerated into a well-oiled machine. One year removed from ranking 25th or worse in all major categories, the Giants rose to 18th in total yards this fall, including fourth in rushing yards and fifth in average yards per carry.

Not only were the Giants’ running backs moving the football at a fresher pace, but they were also getting it into the endzone. New York posted 21 touchdowns on the ground this season, fourth in the league, while 11 of the scores were capped by the position itself. The feat was a sharp improvement from the 2021 season total that saw eight touchdowns and a much less favorable 31st overall ranking that stood as the second effective decrease in as many years.

What made it all the more impressive was that they did it behind an improved yet lackluster offensive line in 2022. Per ESPN Analytics, the Giants’ front finished with a 70 percent run block win rate, 26th in the NFL. That number was much better than the team’s success in pass blocking (52 percent), but there was still a lot of pressure coming to thwart running plays due to injuries and youth in important roles on the offensive line.

The team also kept their ball carriers relatively safe from injuries and burnout. All three major group members played at least 16 games with the Giants, including two contests in the NFL playoffs. Their usage totaled 380 carries in that span, which bested the production of the entire receiving corp in terms of completed targets.

As the offseason looms forward, so too does the pressure to keep the running back position intact and a viable strength within the offense. The priority on the Giants’ list remains to reach a new agreement with Barkley, who has reached the end of his rookie contract.

The rest of the group took on a “by committee” approach between Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell. The former is an unrestricted free agent, and his future with the Giants is still uncertain.

The Giants’ finally threatened their opponents with some semblance of a running game again, and they need it to stick while they restock their offensive line and wide receiver positions. General manager Joe Schoen doesn’t appear intent on doling out fistfuls of money to running backs this spring, given talent and durability, so it’ll be interesting to see how the depth befalls the franchise after a deal with Barkley is hopefully reached.

Some more thoughts on the position….

For Barkley, it was more than simply revitalizing the Giants rushing department in his fifth professional season. The 26-year-old Penn State product and former No. 2 overall pick were on a mission to prove that he could still be that dangerously athletic ball carrier that torched the league in his 2018 rookie campaign.

Four years and two injuries later, he did just that as the major workhorse within the backfield that carried the Giants’ offense this season. Playing in 16 games for the first time since his NFL debut, Barkley accumulated a career-best stat line, posting 295 carries for 1,312 yards (4.4 average) and ten touchdowns on the ground.

At one point in the year, those rushing numbers had Barkley standing atop the league, and he would ultimately finish as the fourth-best bull in the field in both attempts and yards while being eighth in touchdowns. Yet, his overall impact exceeded his handoffs, with the running back garnering another 57 receptions for 338 yards and a 5.9-yard average catch in the open field.

Many were concerned about how his reps would be handled after two serious lower body injuries that handicapped his combined snaps at 211 in 2020-2021, but the Giants star never fretted.

Instead, Barkley put those doubts behind him in pursuit of the comeback effort, rallying a single season-high 370 total snaps with a close split between zone and gap runs. Three games ended with at least 30 snaps, and two were some of his highlight performances of the year.

With each heavy dosage of reps he received, so too did the weekly yardage pile up just as quickly. Barkley had four contests with at least 100 yards rushing in the team’s first nine games, including his remarkable 18-carry, 164-yard, and one-touchdown performance that included a bullish two-point conversion to help the Giants defeat Tennessee in Week 1.

It didn’t matter how the yardage came to him, as he was able to churn through defenses with finesse and athleticism that helped boast 32 runs of 10+ yards, 18 designed runs of 15+ yards, 49 missed tackles, and an average yards after contact of 2.78.

In some respects, it was a campaign in which he bet on himself when very few people outside his inner circle believed he would return the same player, which paid off. Even in a Giants offense whose offensive line was still a work in progress and the burden was on the position to carry the production load, Barkley never succumbed to the pressure nor allowed the unit to deteriorate when the issue of burning out could have taken over his efforts.

MORE 2022 GIANTS POSITION UNIT REVIEWS: Quarterback | Defensive Line | Receivers | Inside Linebackers | Edge Rushers | Tight Ends | Cornerbacks | Offensive Line

As his incredible 2022 season is now in the books, the Giants know it’s time to pay the piper if they want to keep Barkley in blue for the remainder of his career. Both sides have expressed mutual interest in the aftermath of the season, but the key will be agreeing. Barkley knows he won’t “reset” the market but has presented a good case for resetting the team’s running back room this past fall and how he can continue.

Breida joined the Giants last spring on a one-year deal to serve as a cheaper yet more experienced second fiddle to Barkley. He had bounced around a couple of teams before landing in New York but had a resume that included three seasons of 100+ carries and 1,900 rushing yards with San Francisco to draw the organization’s intrigue.

In the end, the 27-year-old’s rushing production never came close to that success in 2022, albeit he gave the backfield a fair 54 carries for 220 and a touchdown in such a limited role.

The Georgia Southern product found his way to contribute extra yardage to the offense by participating in the passing attack and using his skills at moving the pigskin. Out wide, he added 20 receptions for 118 yards and an average of 5.9 yards per reception for his second-best outing in the last four seasons. His career averages in both phases rose to 4.8 and 8.2 yards with the ball in his hands thanks to his ability to avoid and power through contact, which earned him 157 yards and a 2.9 average after a hit in 2022.

The Giants deployed Breida in a mix of zone- and gap-rushing schemes, and he was fruitful at making solid plays and first-down conversions from the former setup. Since 2017, he has taken some of his designed running plays and turned them into 32 rushes of at least 15+ yards and his annual totals of at least 220 yards in five of six NFL seasons. Breida has also collected 112 total first downs on such breakaway reps, including 13 this year while protecting the ball at his highest PFF grade of 84.4.

Whether New York will hand Breida another contract to remain in the Giants' huddle in 2023, the running back’s age is getting closer to the wrong side of 30, and his productivity has been done relative to the early part of his career. If they decide to scour the market for a better free-agent candidate, they know they at least have one backup option secured in Gary Brightwell to fill those shoes during an extended search.

Brightwell, a former sixth-round pick by the Giants in 2021, really rose to the occasion in his second stint with the organization. After tallying just one rush for 4 yards last fall, the 24-year-old returned with 31 rushes for 141 yards and one touchdown in 17 regular season appearances. Much of this production came in the latter half of 2022, when he earned increased snaps down the stretch to help the Giants seal their spot in the postseason.

The Arizona product’s best performance came in the season finale against Philadelphia when he churched 11 handoffs for 60 yards and an average of 5.5 yards. At the same time, the team rested its starters for the Wild Card round. Like Breida, it’d be nice to see Brightwell continue developing his ability to extend plays after contact, as the ball carrier totaled 78 yards and an average of 2.52 yards in that area. He also earned six rushes of 10+ yards, three of 15+ yards, and a 40.7% breakaway percentage.

Brightwell has decent size for a running back of his 6’1” stature and was fairly good at serving as a run blocker for his teammates. If the Giants can get him involved in pass blocking next year and make him strong in the two areas, who knows how much more impactful the unit could be inside the trenches and beyond the line of scrimmage as pass catchers? 

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