How New York Giants Got Their (Running) Groove Back

The New York Giants' running game has come alive this year thanks partly to the schedule and Saquon Barkley. Brandon Olsen breaks it down further to see what else has contributed to the Giants' success.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Nov 4, 2022 2:35 PM EDT

In this story:

New York Giants

As a draft prospect in 2018, the name Saquon Barkley often came with the word “generational” attached. On night one of the NFL Draft, New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman cemented those two words together by making Barkley the second overall pick of the draft, the earliest a running back had been drafted since Reggie Bush in 2006.

With that draft status came incredibly high expectations that some might argue were unrealistic. Perhaps the biggest flaw in the decision to draft Barkley second overall was that the rest of this Giants roster, specifically the offensive line, was not built to complement Barkley’s skill set.

Despite that, Barkley went on to be the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after posting 1,307 yards, 11 touchdowns on 261 carries to go with 721 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 91 catches. Barkley quickly cemented himself as one of the most dynamic playmakers on the planet and the focal point of the Giants offense.

Fast forward through a tumultuous next few seasons where Barkley was consistently hampered by injuries and running behind a poor offensive line, and Barkley is on pace to have the most scrimmage yards in his career.

Long gone are the days of Barkley needing to create for himself to find any success, like in his two 2020 games where he had 34 rushing yards but 42 yards after contact.

So far in 2022, 68.7% of Barkley’s rushing yards have come after contact, the lowest percentage since his rookie year of 66.7%. The improved offensive line and tight end group have made Barkley’s job significantly easier.

On top of the help, Barkley has received from his blockers (wide receivers included), the coaching staff might be who have helped Barkley get back to his productive self the most. Barkley has never had more than 86 gap runs in a season - until 2022 when he already has 96 gap runs.

Here, you see how the Giants run power to give Barkley the decision as to whether he runs the ball to the inside or outside of the right tackle, Tyre Phillips. With Tanner Hudson and Joshua Ezeudu from the left side of the formation to the right, Barkley gets an alley to work with.

Yes, Barkley still has to make a play himself once he’s working his way through, but even having the lane to run is something Giants fans haven’t seen much of over the past few seasons.

Pre-snap motion has been a major part of the run game for the Giants this season, allowing them to not only get an additional blocker to the play side, as you can see in the first Barkley run but also to manipulate defenders into either shifting away from the play or second-guessing their assignments as you can see in this next play.

Against an already uber-aggressive Jaguars front, the Giants send Darius Slayton across the formation to the left - which will be the play side. Right before the ball is snapped, Tanner Hudson goes in motion, which causes both Devin Lloyd and Foyesade Oluokun to step across the formation with him.

At the snap, the Giants toss the ball to Barkley toward the left side of their line, the offensive line does its job, and Barkley has multiple blockers in front of him. Barkley doesn’t get contacted until the 26-yard line, six yards past the line of scrimmage, and doesn’t get tackled until the 30 for a gain of ten.

The third play is one that, while it happened in week one against the Tennessee Titans, is still the longest run of the season for Barkley and the Giants. As with all of these runs, it starts with pre-snap motion for the Giants.

As Sterling Shepard starts going in motion, the Titans defense on his side (Kristian Fulton, Amani Hooker, Zach Cunningham, Bud Dupree, and Jeffery Simmons) all shift inside with Shepard. After the snap, the Giants run a pin-and-pull that has Daniel Bellinger and Andrew Thomas block Bud Dupree and Jeffery Simmons into each other. There’s your pin, with Bellinger sealing the edge, “pinning” Dupree in.

Ezeudu and Feliciano pull to the left, clearing Fulton and Cunningham, then leaving Barkley with a one-on-one against Hooker, who takes a rough angle and can’t make the play. After that, it’s just Barkley with a free run until he’s forced out of bounds by Kevin Byard.

The final play is another pin-and-pull play, but the pre-snap setup is completely different this time.

Barkley is operating out of the wildcat here, something he’s done for 13 snaps this season. The Giants also came out in an unbalanced formation, meaning there was one offensive lineman to the left of the center instead of the usual two. This left Bellinger playing left tackle with David Sills V as the tight end on the left. Barkley also has Matt Breida in the backfield with him.

Here, Sills V is operating as the pin man, pinning De’Vondre Campbell to the inside while Bellinger and Feliciano are now the pulling blockers. Barkley gives a little lean to the strong side of the formation, where there are three offensive linemen to the right of the center and a tight end on the line, before cutting to the left with Breida as a lead blocker as well.

The Giants have used pre-snap motion and plays toward the outside of the tackle to help create explosive plays. Barkley’s picked up 41.5% of his yards this season on explosive rushes, runs that go 15+ yards.

Seventy-five of Barkley’s 163 carries have gone outside the tackle's shoulders to pick up 419 yards, or 53.8% of Barkley’s yards.

Creativity isn’t an issue for the Giants play-calling, especially in the run game, where they’ve used pre-snap motion, pulling linemen, wildcat, and unbalanced formations to create advantages. All of that helps, but the Giants also benefit from one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL in Barkley.

Barkley’s contract expires after this season, but if the run game continues to work the way it’s been, the Giants will find it difficult not to extend Barkley long-term.