The New York Giants have already made it clear with the hiring of John Harbaugh this offseason that they are expecting to compete in the NFC East sooner rather than later. And what we know about Harbaugh is that he wants to run the ball.
A lot.
Harbaugh has had the luxury of Derrick Henry on his roster the past couple of seasons with the Ravens, and while Henry isn't coming with him to New York, the latest rumors from the NFL Scouting Combine seem to indicate that the Giants could be poised to make an unexpected splash at the running back position this offseason.
Giants looking to potentially make a splash on the running back market in 2026
Something you hear about Giants at combine: They're seriously looking at some of the top running backs, both in draft + free agency. Players like Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love, Travis Etienne and Kenneth Walker.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) February 27, 2026
There seems to be a clear focus on becoming a more physical…
This is a fascinating development for a few reasons. Of course, one reason why this might cause some in the football world to raise an eyebrow is the simple fact that the Giants have both Tyrone Tracy and Cam Skattebo on the roster right now.
Even though Skattebo is coming off of a bad injury, it's been assumed that the Giants would build around those guys in the running game. That might not be the plan for Harbaugh and his staff.
It makes sense that the Giants would be looking to upgrade their offensive weaponry. They need to surround the presumptive franchise quarterback, Jaxson Dart, and make things easier on him. Having a top-tier running game will obviously be huge in doing exactly that, but do they need the upgrade in personnel?
That seems to be the way they're thinking.
If Jeremiyah Love were available to the Giants with the 5th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, he could very well represent the best player on the board at that point. It's possible that Love will end up being the #1 overall player on some draft boards if positional value is not taken into account.
He's an elite talent at the position.
The Giants would make a ton of sense for a player like Kenneth Walker, who would seemingly fit perfectly in that culture of a run-first, hard-nosed team. And with that Super Bowl MVP in his back pocket, he's going to get himself a nice pay day as well.
The idea of the Giants now being big players in the running back market, no matter if we're talking the NFL Draft or free agency, is an unexpected development. They'll add another wrinkle to that market and certainly when it comes to free agency, you have to figure they'll be measured with just $3.3 million in current cap space.