Harbaugh Seeks Dominant Running Back Amid Giants' Rushing Woes

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh expressed a desire for a bell-cow running back, a scenario he described as a "Saquon Barkley circumstance," but stated that the team's current running game has not earned such a distinction.

"I would love for us to be in that kind of a circumstance," Harbaugh said. "A Derrick Henry circumstance or a Saquon Barkley circumstance, or whatever it might be. That would be great. Our run game hasn’t earned that yet, and none of those guys have."

The Giants' current running back situation comes after the team allowed Saquon Barkley to depart in free agency in 2024, a move that preceded his success with the Philadelphia Eagles. For the 2024 season, the Giants signed Devin Singletary and drafted Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the fifth round. In 2025, Cam Skattebo was selected in the fourth round, and Najee Harris was added in the summer. This quartet has struggled to establish a consistent run game.

In a recent 34-27 loss to the Saints, the group combined for 14 carries and 34 yards against a Saints defense ranked 30th against the run. The Giants as a team are currently averaging 3.8 yards per carry, ranking 22nd in the league.

Harbaugh acknowledged the team's disappointing performance in the rushing attack. "It’s disappointing," he stated. "I thought we’d be running the ball better at this point in time in terms of outcome and result, and we haven’t been able to do it. But we have to find it."

He attributed the struggles to a lack of effective blocking and running, leading to insufficient yardage and consistency. "We’re not blocking well enough. We’re not running well enough. We’re not putting up enough yards. We’re not putting up enough consistency. We’re not efficient in our run game. It’s not for lack of effort. It’s not for lack of trying. We’ve run the ball quite a bit. We’re not doing it at the level we really plan on doing to be the type of football team we want to be. We want to do it much more effectively than we have."

Individual players have faced challenges with their roles. Skattebo saw a significant reduction in touches against the Saints as a disciplinary measure for fumbles. Harris noted the difficulty for running backs to establish a rhythm when carries are divided among multiple players.

Harbaugh emphasized that opportunities and a larger role are earned. "Understand it. Respect it," he said regarding player roles. "Also understand that that’s earned."

Despite the challenges, Tracy managed to score two touchdowns against the Saints, one rushing and one receiving. Harbaugh advised players to maximize their opportunities, suggesting that consistent performance will lead to increased chances.

"My advice would be … do the most you can with the opportunities you get and you’re sure to get more opportunities,” Harbaugh said. “Do something. So, I get it that you want to get out there and you want to get a rhythm, but that rhythm is earned, too, and it just hasn’t happened yet. Definitely want it to happen. A couple weeks ago, we kind of went that direction and the running game was no different than it was this last game."

Harbaugh, who has experience with both committee approaches and feature backs like Derrick Henry during his time with the Ravens, stated that each of the current running backs desires to be the primary ball carrier. "I know that each of the guys — because I’ve talked to all those guys — want to be that [No. 1] guy," Harbaugh said. "They’re not advocating for the other guy to be that guy. They’re advocating for themself to be that guy. My advice is take the job when you get the ball."