New York Giants wide receiver Parris Campbell Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Giants experimenting with WR as RB in Saquon Barkley’s absence

Saquon Barkley is unlikely to show up at the New York Giants training center until he has a new contract in tow.

With Matt Breida the only running back under contract with NFL starting experience, the Giants got creative, experimenting with free-agent addition Parris Campbell, a wide receiver, taking snaps out of the backfield during the team’s final minicamp practice on Wednesday.

"I did it some in Indy," Campbell told reporters. "But it's really my high school and my college background. It's not new to me. It's something I like to do because they're using me in different ways. I feel like that's something that I'm good at too. Getting some reps back there is good."

Per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, the Giants used Campbell to run some jet sweeps, halfback pitches and option plays — much like how he was used on run plays at Ohio State.

During his junior and senior years at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, Campbell was an all-state running back. He rushed for a combined 2,937 yards and 50 touchdowns over his final two seasons and led the Fighting Irish to back-to-back state titles.

He transitioned to receiver at Ohio State but was still used out of the backfield on occasion. Campbell totaled 23 carries for 210 yards and two touchdowns with the Buckeyes. Although he’s been used sparingly at RB in the NFL, the 25-year-old Campbell has averaged 9.8 yards per carry on his 11 rushing attempts in the NFL.

The Giants' depth at running back is bleak behind Barkley. Breida had 520 carries over his six-year career, but the rest of the group is quite inexperienced. Third-year back Gary Brightwell has just 32 career carries, and Eric Gray and Jashaun Corbin are rookies.

Should New York really find itself in a bind, it could always turn to another receiver, Wan’Dale Robinson. Though he’s recovering from an ACL injury, Robinson has RB experience, rushing for 691 yards and four touchdowns on 141 carries over three seasons with both Nebraska and Kentucky.

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