Lost in the excitement of Daniel Jones’ NFL debut and the New York Giants’ wild comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 is a serious injury to superstar running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley suffered a high ankle sprain in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, and while he remains relatively optimistic, he will undergo an MRI on Monday and could miss upwards of a month, if not more.
With a rookie now under center, the Giants will need the benefit of a strong ground game, so here’s a look at five backs who could fill in for Barkley during his absence.
Wayne Gallman
The Giants like what they have in Wayne Gallman and that was evident during the preseason when they appeared to limit his snaps behind Saquon Barkley, who saw a grand total of zero in an effort to keep him healthy.
However, in Barkley’s absence on Sunday, Gallman managed just 13 yards on five carries and failed to haul in his own target.
That’s not going to get it done for Big Blue, so while odds are they will just ride Gallman moving forward, they should strongly consider using some of their available cap space on a veteran with a history of success.
Jonathan Hilliman
If the Giants want to keep things in-house but go in a direction other than than Gallman, undrafted rookie Jonathan Hilliman is sitting on their practice squad awaiting the call.
It’s likely the Giants add Hilliman to their 53-man roster from a numbers standpoint alone, but the rookie looked impressive throughout the preseason and could factor beginning in Week 4.
Leaning on an undrafted rookie to replace Barkley’s production could be problematic however, so don’t expect this to be the solution so much as a consideration.
Jay Ajayi
Once upon a time, Jay Ajayi was a breakout star for the Miami Dolphins and appeared poised to become one of the NFL’s most dominant backs. However, he fell out of favor with the coaching staff in Miami and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
After a slow start to his Eagles career, Ajayi finally got his feet under him and began making an impact before being lost to a torn ACL in Week 5 of last season.
Ajayi has since been released by the Eagles, but was medically cleared to return to the field in late July and remains an option through free agency for any team in need.
A former 1,000-yard back, Ajayi could be a good for Pat Shurmur’s offensive system and a reliable presence for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.
C.J. Anderson
After several strong years in Denver, including a 1,000-yard season in 2017, Anderson bounced around a bit in 2018, including stops with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.
While his stay in Carolina was otherwise forgettable, Anderson proved his value as a potentially elite back in Los Angeles, gaining nearly 300 yards at 7.0 yards per clip in two regular season games. He added another 189 yards in three playoffs games, averaging over 4.1 yards per carry.
However, things didn’t work out for Anderson after signing in Detroit earlier this year and in a somewhat ironic twist, was waived in favor of former Giants running back Paul Perkins.
Doug Martin
This is a shot in the dark suggestion because Martin has some baggage. At one point, there was an expectation that he would retire, but to this point, he remains an active player that’s currently available on the free agent market.
Injuries have defined his career, but when healthy, Martin is a talented running back capable of making a difference on the ground and, to some degree, through the air.
A former 1,000-yard back, Martin rebounded from two poor seasons to close out his Tampa Bay career with a strong campaign for the Oakland Raiders a season ago, gaining over 720 yards on the ground at a respectively clip of 4.2 yards per carry.
Given his injury history, Martin could come at a steep discount for a running back-needy team like the giants.
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