Previewing the NY Giants’ running back position group

NY Giants Runningbacks 2019 Review

Entering 2019, many expected the NY Giants offense to improve with new faces and improved play from their returning linemen and running backs. If only it was that simple.

Big Blue expected Saquon Barkley and Wayne Gallman to both improve with another year in Pat Shurmur’s system and as they learned the nuances of what it takes to be an NFL back.

Saquon entered 2019 coming off a fantastic rookie season where he won NFL AP Rookie of the Year honors and put up over 2,000 all-purpose yards. As a result, it was expected that Saquon’s second season would only get better.

NY Giants fans were excited for what should have been improved play from the O-line where the team improved on paper with Kevin Zeitler and Mike Remmers on the right side at guard and tackle, and improved play on the left with Will Hernandez’s expected continued development and the steady Nate Solder locking down the quarterback’s blindside.

However, Remmers struggled on the edge, Hernandez didn’t take the step many expected, and Solder was one of the worst tackles in the league last year. There’s no doubt this group was a disappointment which directly led to the running game’s struggles.

To make matters worse, Saquon went down Week 3 in Tampa Bay and he missed the next three games with a high ankle sprain. Wayne Gallman was the next man up and played well in his first game as the starter where he scored two touchdowns and brought the Giants back to 2-2.

As destiny will have it, Gallman went down the following week against Minnesota and the Giants ended up with UDFA Jonathan Hilliman and Eli Penny as their only running options against the Super Bowl defending Patriots. The experiment went horribly, to say the least, as Hilliman failed to find any room in New England’s swarming defense and he had a costly fumble.

With the season slowly slipping away with the team at 2-4, Saquon came back seemingly early from a 6-8 week injury and returned to play too early. Saquon clearly wasn’t himself the rest of the season and struggled to make the same cuts and use the same explosiveness we’ve all come used to in his exciting football career.

Saquon still went over the 1,000-yard marker but the offense failed to find an identity running the ball last year with any consistency. This year, the Giants will need a better run game to help supplement Daniel Jones and the rest of the offense.