Saquon Barkley is the top pick in most fantasy drafts, and it makes sense. He's the main man in the Giants ground game and will very possibly lead the team in receptions too (a year ago his 91 were 14 more than 2nd-ranked Odell Beckham). Protecting that pick with the proper handcuff is iffier.
It's fair to wonder if that player is on the roster at all. Initial favorite Wayne Gallman has struggled, and the current favorite, Paul Perkins, has done very little in three seasons -- didn't even play last year. Is either really worth even a last-round pick?
The Giants can talk about limiting Barkley's workload, but no team put more on the plate of its starting running back a year ago. Barkley accounted for 79 percent of the team's rushing yards and 85 percent of its rushing touchdowns. Both were league-high figures.
| RUNNING BACK, PERCENT OF TEAM, 2018 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Yds | TDR | TmYds | TmTD | Yds% | TDR% |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 1307 | 11 | 1650 | 13 | 79% | 85% |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 1434 | 6 | 1963 | 13 | 73% | 46% |
| David Johnson, Ariz. | 940 | 7 | 1342 | 9 | 70% | 78% |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 1168 | 8 | 1682 | 13 | 69% | 62% |
| James Conner, Pitt. | 973 | 12 | 1445 | 16 | 67% | 75% |
| Adrian Peterson, Was. | 1042 | 7 | 1774 | 12 | 59% | 58% |
| Peyton Barber, T.B. | 871 | 5 | 1523 | 11 | 57% | 45% |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 1251 | 17 | 2231 | 23 | 56% | 74% |
| Phillip Lindsay, Den. | 1037 | 9 | 1907 | 18 | 54% | 50% |
| Marlon Mack, Ind. | 908 | 9 | 1718 | 13 | 53% | 69% |
| Nick Chubb, Clev. | 996 | 8 | 1893 | 15 | 53% | 53% |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 1059 | 12 | 2023 | 15 | 52% | 80% |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 1098 | 7 | 2136 | 17 | 51% | 41% |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 800 | 4 | 1573 | 11 | 51% | 36% |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 935 | 9 | 1938 | 16 | 48% | 56% |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 973 | 5 | 2021 | 12 | 48% | 42% |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 885 | 10 | 1873 | 16 | 47% | 63% |
| Sony Michel, N.E. | 931 | 6 | 2037 | 18 | 46% | 33% |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 1151 | 9 | 2560 | 15 | 45% | 60% |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 824 | 7 | 1855 | 16 | 44% | 44% |
| Doug Martin, Oak. | 723 | 4 | 1628 | 9 | 44% | 44% |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 728 | 8 | 1667 | 14 | 44% | 57% |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 883 | 14 | 2025 | 26 | 44% | 54% |
| Matt Breida, S.F. | 814 | 3 | 1902 | 7 | 43% | 43% |
| Isaiah Crowell, NYJ | 685 | 6 | 1622 | 11 | 42% | 55% |
| Frank Gore, Mia. | 722 | 0 | 1738 | 7 | 42% | 0% |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 615 | 2 | 1493 | 9 | 41% | 22% |
| Latavius Murray, Min. | 578 | 6 | 1493 | 9 | 39% | 67% |
| Kerryon Johnson, Det. | 641 | 3 | 1660 | 11 | 39% | 27% |
| Josh Adams, Phil. | 511 | 3 | 1570 | 12 | 33% | 25% |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 645 | 6 | 2025 | 26 | 32% | 23% |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 535 | 4 | 1738 | 7 | 31% | 57% |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 554 | 3 | 1873 | 16 | 30% | 19% |
New York signed Jonathan Stewart to be its No. 2 running back a year ago, but that fizzled quickly. Stewart got hurt, played in three games and had all of 6 carries. Gallman showed nothing, finishing with just 51 carries as the actual No. 2, and averaging 3.5 yards per attempt -- a yard and a half below Barkley (5.0). Now he's struggling with drops, not a good look for a backup to a guy who was a huge part of the passing game last season.
So, Perkins anyone? He at least averaged over 4 yards per carry back in 2016 (112 for 456, so 4.1). But he was down at half that in 2017 (41 carries for just 90 yards, which is 2.2). The team also signed Rod Smith in the offseason, but he was unimpressive last year (2.9 yards per carry) in Dallas while working behind the only back in the league about as heavily used as Barkley.
Maybe a free agent? The article notes that Jay Ajayi, Darren Sproles (he can catch) and Chris Ivory are out there.
Bottom line, I don't think there's anyone you can safely select as a Barkley handcuff right now. Despite the upside in such a player should the starter get hurt, risky to assume that either Gallman, Perkins or Smith will be in that role.
--Andy Richardson