Less than 10 years ago, former New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman decided to forgo drafting from a group of future franchise quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and, to a lesser extent, Lamar Jackson. Instead, the beleaguered executive opted to select Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley made good on that draft billing, rushing for over 5,000 yards in six seasons with the Giants while missing extensive time due to injury. The 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year scored 35 times on the ground for Big Blue.
In 2024, Barkley finally secured his first Super Bowl ring after rushing for 2,000 yards in the regular season and winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year. The only problem? That championship came for the Philadelphia Eagles, an in-division rival of the Giants.
The Saquon Barkley saga left a bad taste in the collective mouth of the Giants’ fanbase. Surely, drafting another running back with a top ten pick wouldn’t be something seen for a long time in New York, much less by the general manager who let Saquon Barkley walk in free agency, right?
Saturday night’s Dexter Lawrence trade made the scenario just a bit more realistic. Now armed with a pair of top ten selections for Thursday night’s NFL Draft after netting the No. 10 pick from the Cincinnati Bengals in return for the All-Pro nose tackle, the Giants just bought themselves room for luxury.
Enter Jeremiyah Love. The only non-quarterback Heisman Trophy finalist this past season, Love was fourth in the NCAA in yards per carry at 6.89 and fifth in yards per game at 114.3, according to the NCAA website. The 20-year-old was tied for the third most rushing touchdowns with 18.
Love backed that production up at the NFL combine through his raw toolset, running a 4.36 40-yard dash.
Though some within the Giants organization are working under the assumption that the Notre Dame star will be off the board by the time the Giants’ first selection at number five rolls around, possibly to the Arizona Cardinals at three, Love is in play for the Giants with their first selection, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.
Conceivably, the Giants could select Love at five and then look to double down on offense with a receiver or take a starting cornerback at 10. Alternatively, the team could hope to see Love slide all the way to 10 and be guaranteed the chance to draft one of the pool’s premier defensive players, such as Ohio State products Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs, at five.
If the Giants were to go ahead with selecting Love at either spot, he would instantly become the best running back on the roster.
Though Devin Singletary took a pay cut of over $3 million to remain in New York this past offseason, according to Raanan, the 28-year-old is moving closer to journeyman status than contributor and shouldn’t have an impact on any decisions made on draft night.
Eric Gray and Dante Miller are fringe players at best and will have no impact on any decision the Giants make in the draft.
That leaves the thunder and lightning duo of Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Skattebo is expected to be ready to go to start the 2026 season and fans are understandably excited to see the power rusher run behind the newly signed Patrick Ricard at fullback.
Tracy came on during the second half of 2025, finishing with over four yards per carry for the second straight season and doing a better job at reading the line of scrimmage.
Despite both players finding success early in their respective careers, neither player is well-rounded enough to be a true number one option, and both are instead better used as members of a strong committee. It will be up to Head Coach John Harbaugh on whether that’s how he sees the offense operating in New York.
Harbaugh spent the last two seasons in Baltimore watching Derrick Henry dominate the Ravens’ backfield in carries. That came under Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman, who is now on the Giants’ staff as an offensive assistant.
If Harbaugh wants to make a move to find the Giants a workhorse in the draft, there isn’t going to be a better time. According to the Raanan article, NFL Draft insider Mel Kiper Jr. has Love evaluated similarly to NFL stars such as Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, among others.
The Giants offensive line is also the best it’s been in years; much better than it was in 2017 in the season before Barkley was drafted. In 2017, PFF ranked the Giants offensive line 26 in the NFL, naming its best performer as right guard John Jerry. Jerry was released just prior to the start of the 2018 season.
In 2025, the line came in at a much healthier ninth place finish, led by franchise left tackle Andrew Thomas. The team finished fourth in the league in rushing touchdowns with 22 and were in the top half of the NFL in yards per carry at 14 with 4.3.
The Giants then went on to retain right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor in free agency and are expected to upgrade at right guard before week one.
The addition of Love would also take pressure off second-year signal caller Jaxson Dart, especially as he acclimates to working without Wan’Dale Robinson in the slot and regains chemistry with Malik Nabers.
Memories of the Barkley fiasco will understandably give many Giants fans pause about the idea of drafting another running back with a premium pick. However, with no clear roadblocks on the roster, an improved offensive line and quarterback situation and the luxury of having a second top pick in short order, there will never be a better time to draft a consensus-elite prospect like Love.