The NY Giants already boast one of the NFL’s premier running backs, in Saquon Barkley, but spent significant resources upgrading the depth at the position this offseason.
Signing DeVontae Booker via free agency and adding Corey Clement and Ryquell Armstead showed the NY Giants’ commitment not just to adding playmakers behind Barkley, but also telegraphed concern over Barkley’s durability.
Barkley, chosen No. 2 overall by the NY Giants in the 2018 NFL Draft, has missed 17 of 48 possible games through the first three seasons of his career, and is coming off a torn-ACL.
So, what happens if Barkley gets injured again in 2021?
Here’s a look at how the NY Giants’ running back depth chart is shaping up behind Saquon Barkley for the 2021 season
1) Saquon Barkley
When fully healthy, Barkley is among the five most versatile and dangerous running backs in the NFL.
However, for the NY Giants, those moments have been few and far between.
Barkley burst onto the scene, taking home Offensive Rookie of The Year honors after being chosen No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft and proceeding to produce 2,028 total yards from scrimmage and score 15 touchdowns.
However, after a high-ankle sprain cost Barkley three games in 2019 and limited him for much of his sophomore NFL season, and he was lost for the final 14-plus weeks of the 2020 campaign after tearing his ACL in Week 2, Barkley has accounted for just 1,535 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns since his rookie year.
The NY Giants picked up Barkley’s fifth-year option this spring, but the bigger and more consequential decision will be whether the organization goes ahead and ultimately makes him the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
Barkley’s performance this season will play a key factor both in the NY Giants’ ability to compete in 2021 as well as just how committed the organization is to him long-term.