Cam Skattebo Set to Thrive in Giants' New Rushing Scheme

The New York Giants' running game finished as a top-five unit last year and Cam Skattebo was a big part of that accomplishment.

Skattebo was en route to a solid rookie season before an ankle injury cut that short. The good news is that he’s been well on his way to making a full recovery and it is anticipated that he will be full-go for training camp in a couple of weeks.

With John Harbaugh coming in as head coach, Matt Nagy as offensive coordinator, and Greg Roman on staff as an assistant with a say in the run game, the offense will shift more toward a gap-based run scheme.

The gap-based run scheme allows backs to worry less about finding the rushing lane and more about following the lead blocker to a specific spot before being put into position to create on their own from there.

This running back room has experience with gap runs, but under Daboll, the offense was more zone-based, placing greater emphasis on vision than anything else.

Now, backs will be given more direction to hit a point, and from that point on, it’s about making your own yardage, putting less emphasis on a back's ability to see rushing lanes before they even open and more emphasis on what players can do at the point of attack.

Cam Skattebo, RB

Height: 5-11
Weight: 215
EXP: 2 Years
School: Arizona State
How Acquired: D4-’25

2025 in Review

Skattebo was drafted by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft and dealt with an injury that limited him for much of the summer.

Once healthy, he started to work his way into the rotation and made his debut in the final preseason game against the Patriots.

Skattebo played just eight snaps in the first game of the regular season against the Washington Commanders before becoming a more consistent part of the rotation.

From Weeks 2-7, he played at least 35 snaps, and had 10 carries, 45 rushing yards, 2 receptions, and 11 receiving yards in every game. In Week 8, Skattebo sustained a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle against the Eagles, ending a promising rookie year early.

As a rookie, he finished with 410 rushing yards, 24 receptions for 207 yards, and seven touchdowns from scrimmage.

On film, he was still the same back he was at Arizona State and what he will likely continue to be in the NFL despite the injury: a hard-nosed, physical runner that consistently picks up yards after contact and chunk 10-15 yard runs, though he won’t be a home run hitter.

Contract/Cap Info

Skattebo signed a standard four-year contract worth $5,273,040 total with $1,073,040 guaranteed at signing.

Skattebo isn’t at risk of being cut this season because of the expectation that he’s going to be one of the top two backs on the roster in 2026.

If the Giants did want to part ways with him for some reason, they would create $1,005,000 in cap space while incurring a dead cap penalty of $268,260 for each of the next three years.

2026 Preview

The expectation is that Skattebo will be full-go this summer, leading up to his second season, and if Brian Burns’ charity softball game was any indicator, the backflips will be back.

His recovery outlook is strong, and the fact that Skattebo wasn’t a player who relied on athleticism to win also plays in his favor when it comes to bouncing back.

Under the new coaching staff, there will be plenty of opportunities for him to get looks between the tackles, but what will be even more interesting is how the staff gets him both in space and downhill.

The Giants will look to run power often, but there will also be some pin-pull to get backs in space on the perimeter with linemen lead-blocking.

While Skattebo isn't a perimeter burner, tacklers still don't want to meet him in the open field.

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