Eli Manning is still going to be the most talked about player on the New York Giants offense, but with rookie running back Saquon Barkley ready to take on a major role, it could end up taking a lot of pressure off of the two-time Super Bowl champion.
When Giants head coach Pat Shurmur was the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings last year, he used rookie running back Dalvin Cook a lot before he went down with a season-ending ACL injury. In the 3.5 games that Cook played, he was on the field for 75 percent of the offensive snaps. Cook was also a massive threat in the red zone, taking 21 of the 25 carries inside the 20-yard line.
Assuming that Shurmur is going to go with the same gameplan that he had with Cook, Barkley is going to be in line for a lot of carries.
“The running back is an easy guy to fit in an offense,” Shurmur said after the via ESPN. “You have to turn around and hand it to him. It doesn’t take a genius to do that. Then, a lot of times when you try and throw the ball downfield and they cover them all, you can dump him off the ball, or you can feature him in the pass game. I have seen the effects of a really, really good running back not only on the offense, but on the team.
“You have to run the football not just for your offense, but for your team. I have seen the effect that a great running back can have on teams. I was excited about the fact that he was the best player in the draft and I was excited about the fact that we were able to draft him.”
Shurmur will probably try to establish the run early to open up the passing game in New York.
In Minnesota, the running backs were able to open up the passing game for Case Keenum. If the Giants can use that same philosophy, there could be something special brewing in the Big Apple this year.
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