How Giants RB Cam Skattebo Feels About Increased Attention from Opposing Defenses

Despite the added attention received, Cam Skattebo is just playing his game.

New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo (44) screams after winning a Thursday Night Football game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Oct. 9, 2025. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

To some, New York Giants rookie Cam Skattebo might have started out as a novelty act with his exuberant on-field style that endeared him to Giants fans.

But anyone who thought that is now finding out quickly enough that Skattebo isn’t some flash-in-the-pan, but rather is a player that has to be fully accounted for every week.

“I think it’s started,’’ the NFL’s reigning Air & Ground Player of the Week said Thursday after practice. 

“If people want to bring nine in the box, then someone's gotta step up. If people start game planning for me, then there's gonna be other ways to get the ball to other people.”

Skattebo, according to NextGen Stats, has faced a stacked box (8+ defenders) on 23.17% of his rushing attempts. He has 90 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns against loaded boxes thus far.

The Eagles in particular made sure to pay extra attention to Skattebo when he was on the field. The rookie fought for 47 of his 98 rushing yards against a stacked box in the Giants’ upset win over their division rivals.

Skattebo, per NFL+ has also been making an impact on the Giants offense in other ways.

Through six games, he has accounted for 24% of the Giants total scrimmage yards, which is the second-most by a rookie since 2000, just behind former Giants running back Saquon Barkley’s 33.5% recorded during his rookie season in 2018.

Skattebo’s hard-nosed play style and infectious enthusiasm has clearly helped to breathe life into the Giants offense.

“We want our guys playing tough, playing smart,” said assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. 

“We don't want the penalties and the pre-snap stuff and even the post-snap stuff–we can't have that. But there’s a certain mentality that you want to play with–the aggressiveness that you want to play and coach with is there.

Skattebo, for his part, has found enjoyment in playing the game full time for a living and is grateful to his teammates and coaches for their support.

“It's been awesome,” he said.  “My team's done a great job behind me that has kind of kept everything under control. 

“(The coaches) bring up the stuff that they think I might like or think I want. But they do a great job of  panning some stuff out and  bringing me other things.”

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