Giants rising star Cam Skattebo has funny reasoning for why he could soon belong in rare NFL company
The running back is getting back from a serious ankle injury. And the young player wants to prove he can be even more impactful with more volume.
Cam Skattebo might not be the greatest math specialist on Earth, but his goals should motivate any New York Giants fan. The running back, who’s recovering from a dislocated ankle who finished his rookie season after just eight games, wants to be much more productive in his second year.
“I do not consider that successful for me,” Skattebo said to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press about his rookie year. “I had 400 yards on 100 carries. When I play 17-plus games this year, it’s going to be 300 carries for over 2,000 yards.”
Goal will demand more efficiency
Skattebo mentioned that more volume will put him in position to reach a 2,000-rushing yard season. And while that may eventually be true, the running back will still have to increase his efficiency numbers.
In 2025, Cam Skattebo had 410 yards in 101 attempts, an average of 4.1 yards per carry. If he has 300 carries and keeps the average, that will be 1,230 rushing yards. It’s still a pretty solid number, no doubt about it.
To reach 2,000 yards with 300 carries, though, Skattebo would have to increase his average to 6.66 yards per carry. And that’s a massive difference. Nobody in NFL history has reached 2,000 rushing yards in a season averaging fewer than five yards per carry.
2,000-yard club
Tiki Barber holds the Giants’ rushing record with 1,860 yards in 2005.
- OJ Simpson (Buffalo Bills, 1973, 2,003 yards)
- Eric Dickerson (Los Angeles Rams, 1984, 2,105 yards)
- Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions, 1997, 2,053 yards)
- Terrell Davis (Denver Broncos, 1998, 2,008 yards)
- Jamal Lewis (Baltimore Ravens, 2003, 2,066 yards)
- Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans, 2009, 2,006 yards)
- Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings, 2012, 2,097 yards)
- Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans, 2020, 2,027 yards)
- Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles, 2024, 2,005 yards)
All-around piece
The big thing about Cam Skattebo, though, is that the former fourth-round pick can affect the game in multiple ways. In addition to his 410 rushing yards, the running back had 24 catches for 207 receiving yards. He totaled seven touchdowns from scrimmage. Moreover, Skattebo had an 83.1 PFF run-block grade — being essentially a weapon as a fullback at times too.