Skattebo goes off for 17/124/1, pulls up late

Skattebo appeared to have tweaked his hammy on a 42-yard run in overtime that had a chance to be the game-winning run for the Giants. Despite the scare, Skattebo said he expects to be okay, especially with the Giants set to enter their Week 8 bye. His status will be one to monitor when the Giants resume practicing ahead of Week 9’s game against the Eagles, but for now, it doesn’t sound like there’s too much to be worried about here. Skattebo rushed 17 times for 124 yards and a touchdown last week after failing to see a touch in Week 6 following his costly Week 5 fumble against the Commanders.

Skattebo was benched for his fumbling issues last week. He did not touch the ball once, while Najee Harris, Tyrone Tracy, and Devin Singletary all got a few opportunities. The team then cut Harris a few days after Sunday’s loss. After a week in the doghouse, Skattebo appears to be back as the team’s top runner, though we still expect a committee approach from John Harbaugh. Rapoport even said that it’s unclear who will draw the start, so we aren’t sold on Skattebo as a safe fantasy option this week. At best, he’s a high-risk RB3.

Sigh. Three-player backfields are generally fantasy-unfriendly situations, and this one is no different. Skattebo is a capable dual-threat player who has seemingly been limited by the significant ankle injury he suffered last year. The Giants could get him more involved in the passing game, but Tracy can contribute there as well, muddying that opportunity. Singletary would not be a contributor for many NFL teams, but lucky him, he’s a New York Giant. Skattebo and Tracy are viable FLEX options, though both are likely touchdown-dependent.

Hughes makes clear that he thinks Skattebo’s time as the clear-cut lead back is over, recapping coach John Harbaugh’s offseason attempts to acquire a bellcow, while noting that Skattebo is currently in the doghouse. Hughes believes Skattebo is a nice complementary player who can function as a physical change-of-pace option. The biggest issue the Giants face in replacing him is cost. He thinks a player like Jonathan Taylor will cost a Day 2 pick, at least, and he is not sure Taylor is worth that, given the Giants’ long-term plans for the 2027 draft capital they’ve accrued via various personnel moves. Trading away Kayvon Thibodeaux is an option, but doing so is challenging with Brian Burns (knee) out for the year.

The move comes a couple days after Harris criticized the New York coaching staff for its handling of the backfield touch distribution. “It’s hard to get into a rhythm with one or two plays...if you’re getting a play here and then get taken out for a series, there’s nothing you could do,” Harris said after the Giants’ Week 6 loss to the Saints. “I’ve never been through none of this before.” Harris had 31 rushes for 99 scoreless yards before getting the boot. With Harris gone, Cam Skattebo could get another chance to see increased playing time after being all but benched last week. Tyrone Tracy, who led the team in rushing attempts against New Orleans, could be the de facto lead back for now.

Tyrone Tracy appeared to do the most with his opportunities last week, scoring the game’s only two touchdowns. Najee Harris was bottled up and Cam Skattebo was soft benched while Devin Singletary led the team in snaps while they were in comeback mode for most of the second half. By the letter of what he’s offering here, Tracy is probably the player who should get the majority of the snaps against the Texans. In actuality, we have no idea what will happen here and this quote doesn’t really help us. “I don’t like (rotating backs) either,” Harbaugh said per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan after the game. “One of those guys needs to step up. Somebody needs to step up and be the back. And none of those guys have done that yet.” We suspect we’ll be diving beat writer opinions ahead of Sunday.

Before the game, it was widely reported that the Giants would start Najee Harris with Skattebo dealing with fumbling issues to start the season. This was indeed the case as Skattebo saw zero touches and just six snaps on the day, last among all four Giants running backs. After the game, head coach John Harbaugh insisted the team did not bench Skattebo, but it’s hard to see this as anything else. Fantasy managers will be hoping Skattebo will be out of the dog house after no Giants running backs surpassed 20 yards rushing against a poor Saints run defense. He is cautiously in the RB3 ranks until further notice.

Fowler was adding to a report from Jordan Raanan, who said Harris is “likely to have a larger role with Cam Skattebo downgraded but still part of the mix after the fumbles.” Skattebo has indeed struggled with fumbles, putting the ball on the ground four times this year. No running back has more fumbles, and Skattebo’s most recent blunder cost the Giants a shot at an overtime win versus the Commanders last week. They instead settled for a tie. Even if Skattebo winds up leading the team in carries this week, he was only valuable for fantasy managers because of his high-volume role. With that out the window, Skattebo is buried in the RB3 ranks for Week 6.

Giants beat writer Dan Duggan chimed in with “I would be very surprised if [Cam] Skattebo has the same RB1 workload on Sunday that he’s had in the first five games.” Skattebo has put the ball on the ground four times in the first five games. Najee Harris has one in 27 carries and Tyrone Tracy has added two. It sounds like Harris may start to be a significant thorn in the side of Skattebo-reliant managers.

Skattebo rushed for just 12 yards on six carries in the first half as he and the Giants struggled on the ground for most of the day. He would come up with a few big runs in the second half, one of which resulted in a 19-yard gain in overtime as the Giants were attempting to drive into position for a game-winning field goal. Unfortunately for Skattebo, disaster struck later on the drive when he lost a fumble on the Commanders’ 24-yard line, which was recovered by Washington and ended any hopes of a Giants’ victory. Poor late-game clock management by the Commanders made Skattebo’s fumble a little less costly, as the two sides would end Sunday’s game in a tie, but it’s impossible to overstate how big a 4-1 start to the season would be for the Giants, who are playing in a struggling NFC East. Skattebo hasn’t rushed for more than 81 yards in any game this season and has only one touchdown to his name. His reliable volume continues to put him in fringe RB1/RB2 territory, but it’s been a disappointing start for the second-year back. He’ll look to turn things around next week against the Saints.