Film breakdown: Smart, tough, dependable — Cam Skattebo’s his name

Let’s look at what Skattebo brings the Giants

The New York Giants selected Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo with the 105th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Skattebo joins Tyrone Tracy Jr. and veteran Devin Singletary in an exciting running back room coached by LaDell Betts. Three adjectives that best describe Skattebo: smart, tough, dependable — no wonder he’s a New York Giant!

Here’s a post detailing Cam Skattebo’s 2024 statistics and where they ranked in the FBS:

103 missed tackles forced ranked behind Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who had an astonishing 154 missed tackles forced in 2024. Still, only six players forced 90 or more missed tackles in the FBS since 2016: Dalvin Cook (2016, 91), David Montgomery (2018, 99), Travis Etienne (2019, 91), Bijan Robinson (2022, 104), along with Jeanty and Skattebo.

Skattebo started his college career at Sacramento State and had two very productive seasons in the FCS. Skattebo was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award (nation’s most versatile player) as a junior in his first season at Arizona State. He took 50 snaps at quarterback, more than 350 at running back, two at tight end, more than 100 as either a slot/wide receiver with special teams snaps as well. He also punted the football eight times for a team-best 42.3 yards per punt in 2023.

Mr. Do-Everything was ninth among all active FBS and FCS RBs with 3,755 career rushing yards, while his 6.2 yards per carry are 18th in that group, and he missed a game. Skattebo ranks second in single-season rushing total (1,586, 2024) for ASU (not including playoff); he is tied with Wilford White (1950) in total touchdowns in a season (22, 2024). He was a First-Team All-American in 2024.

No Heisman-winning running back has combined for 1,500 yards with 500 yards receiving, but Skattebo achieved this feat in 2024 sans the Heisman Trophy; he finished fifth in Heisman voting.

Skattebo had 4.09 yards after contact, which ranked eighth in the FBS last season. He primarily operated out of the shotgun and pistol but rushed a lot of zone, counter, power, and some DUO. He led running backs in the FBS with 543 receiving yards in 2024 and a yards per route run of 1.92, which was considerably higher than the second-highest RB (of players with at least 50% of snaps). Here is my evaluation of Skattebo, followed by a video:

Strengths

• Good thick build with dense extremities – stocky
• Very good athlete with excellent change of direction and agility
• Solid explosiveness in space with solid speed/acceleration
• More elusive than his build would suggest – understands angles and how to make himself small
• Impressive foot quickness and feet as a runner
• Elite one-cut ability + vision make him dangerous at finding backside cuts
• Exceptional feel for defensive flow with elite ability to attack vulnerabilities
• Math wizard behind the LOS – calculates defensive movement well
• Rare balance and center of gravity – not an easy player to corral
• Presses the LOS low and instantaneously hits desired hole
• Has the vision/reaction for zone and the downhill rushing ability for power/counter
• Orients his body advantageously/quickly to hit holes behind the LOS
• Elite contact balance and lower-leg drive
• Powerful runner who lowers his shoulder and can punish defenders
• Churns his feet through contact to keep piles moving
• Will easily run through poor tackle attempts and arm tackles
• Phenomenal receiving back with good route running ability
• Effortlessly adjusts to poorly thrown footballs – a natural receiver
• Elite awareness as a route runner – peels away from defenders in zone when QB is outside the pocket
• Solid ability to run routes – had success down the field (see Texas, 2024)
• Great YAC ability – has 871 yards after the catch over the last two seasons
• Quick feet in space – excellent angles to avoid clean contact
• Very good pass protector with excellent play strength – gets low, is patient, executes assignment
• Violent pass protector
• Insane amount of competitive toughness

Weaknesses

• Lacks breakaway speed – can get tracked down
• Lacks high-end explosiveness through the second level
• Ran primarily out of the pistol and shotgun the last two seasons
• Had ten fumbles in three seasons – must do a better job securing the ball
• Has a lot of wear and tear – 711 total rushing attempts in college
• Is already 23 years old

Cam Skattebo is a phenomenal overall football player who has worn many hats throughout his collegiate career. He’s a dangerous one-cut runner with an elite jump cut and vision, along with efficient footwork. He possesses excellent receiving chops with some experience as a quarterback, kick returner, and punter. Skattebo possesses an excellent combination of lateral agility and short-area quickness, along with a physical, brute-style of running that results in him falling forward through contact. His contact balance is elite.

He lacks deep speed and the open-field explosiveness of other rushers, but maximizes his yards with contact balance and an elite understanding of how to angle his body upon the point of contact with defenders. He also runs very low to the ground and is a pin-ball at the point of contact. Skattebo is a smart, physical three-down-rusher with pass-protection ability.