Why Giants Got Amazing Value in RB Devin Singletary

A deeper look at Devin Singletary's career production shows the Giants got themselves a steal in free agency.

Jan 20, 2024; Baltimore, MD, USA; Houston Texans running back Devin Singletary (26) reacts after / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

For many, the breakup between the New York Giants and running back Saquon Barkley was painful to watch, especially considering he ended up signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants' biggest rivalry.

However, in signing Devin Singletary to potentially be the lead in the Giants' running backs by-committee approach, New York got themselves as productive (if not slightly more) of a running back for a fraction of the cost.

The Giants signed Singletary, who has been the rushing yardage leader on every NFL team he's played for so far, to a three-year, $16.5 million contract that included $9.5 million in guarantees and a $3.75 million signing bonus. That comes to $5.5 million per year.

Barkley also signed a three-year deal with the Eagles, except he is worth a base value of $37.75 million with $26 million guaranteed. His deal also has four voidable years to help thin out the $12.125 million signing bonus he received. Still, the three-year deal comes to $12.58 million per year.

Who got the better value? Barkley, a two-time Pro Bowler who has only had two seasons in which he didn't miss any time because of injury, has three 1,000-yard rushing campaigns to his name, with only one coming in a winning season for the Giants. 

A deeper look at his stats shows 75 career broken tackles (in 1,201 regular-season rushing attempts) and a 42.5 percent success rate (an average defined as picking up at least 40 percent of the required yards on first down, 60 percent on second down, and 100 percent on third down.)

Singletary has never logged a 1,000-yard rushing campaign, as he's never really been the high-volume back that Barkley was. This has led to him being more durable throughout his career, plus he's posted a 48.8 career success rate and 61 broken tackles (in 888 rushing attempts).

What about in the receiving game? Barkley has a 72.7 percent catch rate with 12 touchdown catches but only a 38.1 percent success rate in getting the minimum yardage, as described earlier in this analysis. He has 32 career broken tackles as a receiver, 26 dropped passes, and has been on the other end of five balls that have gone for interceptions.

Singletary has a 75.8 percent catch rate despite having only four touchdowns and a 45.9 percent yardage success rate. He also has 15 broken tackles as a receiver, and has been on the end of just 20 career drops and one interception in his career.

These numbers, plus Singletary's relatively clean injury history, certainly support the idea that the Giants landed solid value with their signing of Singletary over Barkley. 

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