Brian Daboll’s ‘Track Record’ Hurting Saquon Barkley’s Contract Hopes

Saquon Barkley may not get the long-term contract he wants from the New York Giants because of head coach Brian Daboll’s history with late-round and unheralded running backs.

That’s the view of former New York Jets and Cleveland Browns boss Eric Mangini. He told The 33rd Team how Daboll turned Peyton Hillis and Jerome Harrison into stars while serving as offensive coordinator for the Browns in 2009-10.

Mangini described how “when you look at what Brian Daboll did with some guys in Cleveland, like Peyton Hillis, who was a sixth-round draft pick that we traded with Denver for, and puts him on the cover of Madden after a big season, and Peyton really never had a season like that after we had move on from the Browns. And then Jerome Harrison, who is a back that not a lot of people know, but he was there with us in ’09, and has the third-greatest single-game rushing performance ever. He’s only 10 yards off the record. So Brian has a track record of being able to make guys successful.”

Daboll’s history is bad news for Barkley because, as Mangini puts it, “if you’re in Saquon’s camp it’s hard to leverage them (the Giants) because the organization knows that Brian has the ability to produce a lot with maybe lesser skill-sets.”

It’s a troubling dynamic for Barkley, who doesn’t want to to sign the franchise tag but is unlikely to receive a big payday. Not after the Giants paid quarterback Daniel Jones $160 million over four years.

Instead, the Giants may be better served trusting Daboll’s history and finding their successor to Barkley late on in the 2023 NFL draft.

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2023 Draft Deep in Talented Running Backs

If the plan is to bet on Daboll’s track record, it’s the right year to take the gamble because this draft is deep with talented running backs. More than a few have already been touted as possibly landing with the Giants, including two-time national champion Kenny McIntosh.

There are other options, like TCU’s Kendre Miller. He’s the ideal pick for the Giants in Round 3, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic.

Miller has workhorse potential after amassing 1,399 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground during his senior year with the Horned Frogs, including this 75-yarder against Texas.

Miller has already visited with the Giants during the pre-draft process, according to NorthJersey.com’s Art Stapleton, but Roschon Johnson is another back the team should know.

Johnson is a good pick for the Giants in the fourth, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Schwartz noted how “Johnson fits Daboll’s ‘smart, tough, dependable’ requirement list.”

Those qualities helped Johnson spell Bijan Robinson for the Longhorns. Although he didn’t start, Sports Reference noted Johnson still averaged 9.1 yards per carry in 2022 and made breaking tackles a speciality, like on this run against Colorado, highlighted by ESPN.

Whoever the Giants choose, more and more mock drafts including a running back for the team shows the position is a growing need. It’s becoming a priority because Barkley is only under contract for another year, the same as his backup, Matt Breida.

The time is ripe for Daboll to work some more of his magic with an unheralded runner.

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Brian Daboll Gives Giants Leverage Over Saquon Barkley

That magic helped Hillis, who finished his career playing two seasons with the Giants, rush for 1,177 yards in 2010. Daboll’s wizardry also played a role in Harrison turning 34 carries into 286 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs for a franchise record the previous season.

Even as OC for the Buffalo Bills, Daboll continued to get the most out of running backs who entered the pros without a first-round grade. Devin Singletary was a third-round pick in 2019 who rushed for 870 yards and caught 50 passes in 2021.

Zack Moss came off the board in the same round one year after the Bills took Singletary. He added 345 yards to Singletary’s rushing tally in ’21.

Daboll getting this level of production from mid- to late-rounders is bad news for Barkley. The latter is scheduled to earn $10.091 million this year, provided he signs the tag, but things are murky beyond that point because Barkley “doesn’t intend to sign anytime soon,” according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

Barkley’s unhappiness about the tag leaves the Giants needing to exit this draft with some starter-ready insurance in the backfield.

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