Big Blue has not had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2012.
New York Giants undrafted running back Orleans Darwka has set multiple career-highs as the team’s lead running back in 2017, but the G-Men have yet to find a long-term solution in their backfield.
Former general manager Jerry Reese used a fifth-round draft selection on Paul Perkins in the 2016 draft and then took Wayne Gallman in the fourth-round of this past year’s draft.
While Gallman has shown some promise in his rookie season, he has not locked down Big Blue’s starting role. The 6-foot, 210-pound tailback out of Clemson has yet to make his first career start but has looked impressive in recent weeks.
Perkins also showed promise down the stretch of his rookie season, posting a career-high 102 rushing yards against the Washington Redskins in the team’s regular season finale. But in 2017, the second-year running back out of UCLA has carried the ball just 35 times for 73 yards.
It’s clear New York’s offensive line is the team’s biggest deficiency on the offensive side of the ball, but that doesn’t mean Big Blue couldn’t use a game-changer in the backfield.
New York’s next general manager is likely to select a running back at some point during the 2018 NFL Draft. Whether that’s in the first-round or seventh-round is unknown, but that shouldn’t stop Giants fans from taking a closer look at some of the top running back prospects in this year’s class.