The big distraction during the New York Giants’ offseason and one of the lead stories of their ‘Hard Knocks’ appearance was the denouement of the Saquon Barkley contract situation that had been festering for two years. It began during the bye week in 2022, when GM Joe Schoen reportedly offered Barkley a $12.5M per year contract that Barkley and his agent turned down. One franchise tag, several rumored contract offers, and much finger-pointing later, Schoen decided to let Barkley walk.

Barkley promptly signed with the [insert teeth gnashing sound here] Philadelphia Eagles and in his first game in green rushed for two touchdowns and caught a pass for a third on national TV as the NFL world laughed at the Giants for letting him go. A few weeks later, with the Eagles on the verge of securing a win over Atlanta, again on national TV, Giants fan favorite Nick Sirianni had Jalen Hurts throw to Barkley on third down near the goal line to drive the final stake into the Falcons’ heart…but Barkley dropped the pass, Atlanta used the clock stoppage to drive downfield for the winning score, and Giants’ fans laughed right back knowingly (Barkley had 17 drops over his final three seasons as a Giant) at the rest of the NFL.

That’s the soap opera version. But now, a third of the way through the season, we’re in a better position to objectively address the question: Do the Giants miss Saquon Barkley? Monetarily, definitely not – that’s $37.75M over three years ($26M guaranteed) that’s not on the Giants books, less than half of it offset by the contract they gave Devin Singletary and the fifth-round rookie contract of Tyrone Tracy.

What about on the field, though? Has the Giants’ anemic offense suffered by not having Barkley to lean on? That question will come to the fore this week as Barkley returns to MetLife Stadium for the first time as an Eagle on Sunday. Let’s take a look.

The Giants in essence have replaced Barkley with the tandem of Singletary and Tracy. Not in the usual sense of a two-headed rushing attack with different backs on the field for different series in each game. Rather, Singletary got most of the play initially, and now after being hurt, Tracy has gotten most of the play. Maybe Brian Daboll will actually share time between the two in a given game when Singletary returns. For now, though, let’s just ask how their combined production compares to Barkley’s. (Note that the Eagles also have Kenneth Gainwell and the Giants Eric Gray, but they have played minor roles and thus are not included.)

Rushing

Here are the basic 2024 rushing stats for all three backs:

Courtesy of Pro Football Focus

Barkley has rushed for 57 more yards in 12 fewer attempts than the two Giants running backs combined. He has a slightly higher Pro Football Focus rushing grade than either and has not fumbled, while Singletary has fumbled twice. He and Singletary have been adequate run blockers while Tracy overall has not, although his low grade was mostly from the Seattle game.

Blocking isn’t job 1 for a running back, but for completeness here are the pass blocking grades for each:

Courtesy of Pro Football Focus

Barkley was criticized for being an inadequate pass blocker as a Giant, but he improved his last two years and has continued to be an adequate pass blocker as an Eagle, though he has given up two sacks and a hurry. Singletary has been a good pass blocker as a Giant, while Tracy has been about average.

Advanced rushing metrics

Courtesy of Pro Football Focus

Barkley’s calling card has always been his potential to break long runs. He has not been thought of as a power back who breaks tackles. This year, though, he is averaging a bit more than 3 yards after contact per attempt (YCO/A). That’s only 23rd in the NFL among running backs with at least 20 carries but it is his best since his first two seasons as a Giant. Singletary is 21st in that category, while Tracy is 39th.

Speaking of long runs, Barkley has 11 of at least 10 yards this season, tied for seventh in the NFL. Singletary and Tracy combined have the same number in 12 more attempts. Likewise, Barkley has four runs of at least 15 yards, tied for 19th, while Singletary and Tracy combined have five. Barkley’s 19 first downs are tied for 12th, but Singletary and Tracy have combined for 23.

Receiving and elusiveness

Courtesy of Pro Football Focus

Barkley, Tracy, and Singletary individually have all been targeted in the passing game a similar number of times and have similar numbers of receptions and yards, i.e., the Giants are making about twice as much use of their backs as receivers as the Eagles are. That may have more to do with the Eagles having A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert to throw to and with Daniel Jones’ proclivity to check down than anything about the running backs themselves. None of the three rank high in yards per route run, but Barkley is the lowest among the three. All three backs have dropped only one pass so far. (For context, the Jets’ Breece Hall and Braelon Allen have each dropped three – just one more reason for Aaron Rodgers to give the evil eye during a game.) Of course, Barkley’s one drop lost the Eagles a game.

The final column is PFF’s “elusiveness rating.” It’s a formula that combines missed tackles on rushes and receptions with yards after contact to provide an overall estimate of how hard it is to bring a running back down. Singletary’s 122.4 is fifth in the NFL among backs with at least 20 carries, while Barkley’s 58.6 is only 32nd.

A note about run blocking: The Eagles have lost Jason Kelce, and new center Cam Jurgens is only adequate at best, but as a team they still rank eighth in the NFL in PFF run blocking grade. The Giants’ new and improved offensive line is more proficient in pass protection than run blocking, ranking 24th in the latter, though that is still better than last season’s No. 30 ranking. In other words, Barkley runs behind a better line now than he ever had in New York, and a better line than this year’s Giants running backs run behind.

The bottom line

Barkley was a great Giant who would have been even greater were it not for injuries and the terrible offensive line in front of him. He should be cheered, not booed, when he comes to MetLife this Sunday.

Nonetheless, it was the right call by Joe Schoen to let him walk. The money saved each year against the cap was better used to do things like signing veteran offensive linemen who have performed well in pass protection. Of more importance, as the numbers above show, is that the Giants at a minimum have replicated Barkley’s production with a combination of an underrated $5M veteran back and a promising 5th round rookie back. Barkley has played well for Philadelphia, but he is not experiencing a renaissance there like the one Derrick Henry seems to be having in Baltimore (Henry’s six-game totals would project to 1,992 rushing yards and 23 TDs if maintained through 17 games).

Say what you will about modern football roster construction philosophy, but the mantra “Don’t pay running backs” continues to be borne out on the field. (Derrick Henry, by the way, is only getting $16M total over two years and only the first $9M is guaranteed.) The Giants are just fine at running back. They don’t miss Saquon Barkley.