Can New York Giants Get Saquon Barkley Back on Track?

We continue our look at the New York Giants' biggest questions ahead of training camp by turning the focus to the running backs.

The New York Giants coaching staff is on a mission to find out what it has in quarterback Daniel Jones, a player that the organization's ownership admitted to screwing up in every way possible.

But the Giants also haven't done running back Saquon Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in 2018's draft and a player that the previous leadership envisioned as a future Hall of Famer in the making, many favors either.

One can start with the lofty expectations put on Barkley, who was described as a "potential gold jacket (Hall of Fame)" running back "touched by the hand of God" by the previous regime. While well-meaning in its intentions, the previous regime might have gone overboard in setting the expectations for Barkley, perhaps to justify selecting him No. 2 overall.

There was the inconsistency (and at times, poor fit) in the scheme, a coaching merry-go-round, and an inconsistent offensive line that did him no favors. There was also a list of lower-body injuries--a high ankle sprain in Year 2, a torn ACL in Year 3, and another ankle sprain last year--that caused people to wonder if Barkey would ever look like he did as a rookie again.

Given all that, it's no wonder that the conversation about Barkley being the type of game-changing stud the Giants envisioned he'd become took a wrong turn to where now there is a question as to whether he even has a long-term future with the team.

It's odd to call the 25-year-old Barkley a restoration project at this point in his career, but that's what it's come to, given how things have unfolded since he recorded over 2,000 all-purpose yards, including 1,307 yards on the ground and earned the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2018.

Since then, Barkley's numbers--when he's been on the field--have taken a consistent downward turn. Tossing out the 2020 season in which he only played five quarters of football due to the ACL injury, he's gone from 5.0 yards per carry as a rookie to 4.6 the following year and then 3.7 last year, his first back from reconstructive surgery.

His all-purpose yards have slid from 2,028 in Year 1 to 1,441 in Year 2 and then 856 last season. And his pass targets have dropped quicker than a sandbag tossed into a lake, going from 91 as a rookie to 52 in Year 2 and then 41 last year.

Yes, injuries have played a role in Barkley's struggles of late. Still, the bigger factor has simply been the inability of the staff to figure out how to incorporate what Barkley does well into their vision of the offensive scheme.

Put another way, Barkley has been a victim of the old "jam a square peg into a round hole" way of thinking.  

Fortunately for Barkley, who enters a contract year this season, he has a coaching staff that did its homework in figuring out where he can contribute the most in the offense. And that same coaching staff has come up with ways that meet the former Penn State star halfway. 

Saquon Barkley is looking to recapture his rookie season productivity.

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Saquon Barkley kicks a football during the Giants' 2022 OTAs.

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Saquon Barkley hopes to get back to his rookie form this year.

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

“I think any time you have a good player, you find a way to get the best players the football,” said head coach Brian Daboll. “Targets, sometimes as a decoy, touches in the run game. Guys that can produce and make yards with the ball in their hand, as a play-caller, you like those guys."

And Daboll has made no secret that he likes what Barkley brings to the table.

“I think Saquon is a unique guy,” he said. “He's got good hands, he’s a good route runner, a good runner--try to use him the best way we can."

Daboll and the rest of the offensive assistants did a deep off-season dive into the tape of every player they anticipate being a part of the team this year. Given how the offense unfolded this spring, they concluded that not getting Barkley into space where he almost always has the competitive edge against linebackers and defensive backs is mandatory.

The new scheme will have Barkley lining up not only in the backfield but also in the slot and out wide, where his route tree will be vastly expanded from earlier in his NFL career and in college, where in three years, he recorded 1,195 receiving yards on 102 catches and eight touchdowns. 

Of course, all this means nothing if Barkley gets hurt again or, for some reason, doesn't take to his expanded role. But if nothing else, the new offense and his role within it has him fully energized--even more so than last year when he knew he was returning from the torn ACL. 

Barkley is also fully bought-in to the new offense.

"I'm very excited," he said before the Giants wrapped up their mandatory minicamp last week. "I think this offense is going to put our playmakers in position to make plays, whether it's post-snap, pre-snap, just giving us looks so we can go out there and let our talent go and work. 

"I'm excited not only for myself but for all the playmakers on this team, for the offensive line, for the team in general. I feel like we have something special here."

There's still a lot of work to be done and a long way to go before the Giants and Barkley declare that the fifth-year running back is "back" to his old self. But the optimism coming from 1925 Giants Drive after the struggles the offense endured in the previous system is growing in their quest to help Saquon be Saquon again.

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