The Giants add some THUD to their offense
The New York Giants made no secret of their desire to add to the running back room at some point in the draft. They didn’t wast any time on the third day of the draft and added Cam Skattebo to their backfield.
The Giants have plenty of speed in their receiving corps with Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, and Jalin Hyatt. Now, they continue to build out their backfield and find a partner for Tyrone Tracy.
What it means
The Giants did a lot of work on the runners in this deep and talented running back class. They also paid particular attention to power backs, obviously looking for a physical complement to Tyrone Tracy’s fluid elusiveness. It’s also worth noting that the Giants brought Skattebo into their facilities for an official “30” visit.
The combination of Skattebo and Tracy, as well as Dante Miller (should he make the team) could be the Giants’ new “Earth, Wind, and Fire” rotation.
The additions of Abdul Carter to Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, Darius Alexander to Dexter Lawrence, Skattebo to Tracy, and a young (and polarizing) quarterback from Ole Miss… This is starting to look like some of the Giants teams of yore.
What does he bring?
Pain.
Cam Skattebo is one of the most physical runners in the entire class and almost seems to love hitting the truck stick. He has a dense, powerful frame at 5-foot-9, 220 pounds, to go with fantastic vision and contact balance. He also has an incredibly explosive lower body, posting a 39½-inch vertical leap and a 10-foot-3 broad jump.
He isn’t fast, and his 4.65-second 40 is a big reason why he was available at 105th overall. Skattebo’s speed, however, belies some incredible production. He was second in the country in rushing yardage behind Ashton Jeanty and third in the nation in yards after contact, with 1,202 of Skattebo’s 1,712 rushing yards coming after first contact.
Skattebo finished with 24 total touchdowns in 2024, 21 of which came on the ground.
But where most power backs have hands like feet (to use a Mayockism), Skattebo has definite receiving upside. He had 45 catches for 605 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2024.
How does he fit?
Skattebo isn’t a home run hitter, but that’s why the Giants have Nabers, Slayton, and Hyatt.
Skattebo is a big, bruising, punishing partner for Tyrone Tracy. The Giants lacked a physical presence in their backfield. Skattebo is a one-cut downhill runner with a dangerous jump cut and the kind of burst to exploit quick-closing windows. Where Tracy has rare elusiveness to slip would-be tacklers, Skattebo can bounce off tackles and deliver hits to defenders.
The Giants want to attack every blade of grass on offense, spreading defenses horizontally as well as vertically. Skattebo will feast on light boxes and be a real threat in short yardage and red zone situations.
