No. 26 and the New York Giants Player That Wore It Best

This jersey number could have been handed to safety Antrel Rolle, who many younger Giants fans still admire for helping the franchise get back to the Super Bowl for the second time in four years during the 2011 season. 

However, Rolle’s title and production with the organization just didn’t seem like enough to trounce the larger name recognition and talents that came with former running back Saquon Barkley during his six seasons in East Rutherford. 

Barkley, who has been tabbed as one of the more controversial draft selections by the Giants and the Dave Gettleman regime despite his insane athletic abilities, was taken No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Penn State. His draft slot marked the highest for a running back since Reggie Bush in 2006 and immediately brought hefty expectations to the All-American ball carrier. 

While Eli Manning was still manning the helm for Barkley’s first two seasons as a pro, he would quickly deliver and become the biggest face of the franchise as he exploded into their most productive offensive weapon out of the backfield. 

In his first two seasons, Barkley amassed 1,000-yard totals on the ground (1,307 in 2018 and 1,003 in 2019) and 17 combined touchdowns along with over 1,100 yards and six scores as a pass catcher.

He flashed an ability to turn minor gains into house calls with his impressive lower body strength and speed in the open field, which helped him earn his first recognition as NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at the end of the 2018 season. 

The Giants' offense wasn’t always very efficient in that same span, ranking around the middle of the league in major metrics, but Barkley had the rushing knack to create plays out of nothing that helped New York stay in games. He was an instant sensation for fans and the one piece in the huddle that opposing teams had to respect whenever he touched the field. 

Not every moment of Barkley’s tenure would be sunshine and roses, though. The 2020 season would bring the running back’s first bit of adversity, as he suffered a torn ACL in the second week against the Chicago Bears and was sidelined from sparking the Giants' offense the rest of the year. 

Barkley would return in 2021, but he only played in 13 games and managed to collect 593 yards and two touchdowns as the lead back. He spent time on the injured list for a foot injury suffered in Week 5 against Dallas and then had a brief stint on the COVID-19 list due to the ongoing regulations surrounding the pandemic that season. 

It wouldn’t be till the 2022 season and the onset of the Brian Daboll coaching era in the Big Apple that Giants fans would once again see the Barkley that they fell in love with as a rookie. He would rebound to another 1,000-yard campaign, his third with the Giants, and turn it into a career-high 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns that helped power the Giants into the postseason for the first time since 2016. 

In that postseason, Barkley pushed the team to their first postseason victory since the 2011 Super Bowl with 109 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns in the Giants’ 31-24 Wild Card victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Giants would follow up his incredible season by handing him the non-exclusive franchise tag for the 2023 season. 

After the 2023 season, the relationship between Barkley and the franchise hit an inflection point. Following his 962-yard and five-touchdown effort that season, the front office, now led by general manager Joe Schoen, wanted to tag Barkley for the second time, to which the running back refused to sign and was granted the right to test the open market in free agency. 

Barkley would find his value in a three-year, $37.75 million deal with the rival Philadelphia Eagles, which included $26 million guaranteed. The Giants didn’t want to match the offer, and their former first-round pick went off to their biggest divisional rival, where he had a new career-high season with 2,005 rushing yards and 15 combined touchdowns that made him the ninth player to cross that number. 

Barkley would also help guide the Eagles to a win in Super Bowl LIX and earn him both First-Team All-Pro status and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. He would finish the year with 2,504 yards on the ground and 2,857 from scrimmage, which also set records, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of Giants fans who wanted him to stay in blue. 

In the end, Barkley’s Giants tenure saw him win two rookie awards, two Pro Bowl appearances, the rookie record for receptions in a single season (91), and place No. 95 on the Giants Top 100 Playerslist.

Who's Wearing it Now?

Following Barkley's departure last offseason, the Giants soon after presented No. 26 to running back Devin Singletary. The Giants signed the veteran ball carrier shortly after their divorce from his predecessor as a means to bring another cheap veteran into the room that was headed for a youth rebranding. 

Singletary, who spent four seasons at the beginning of his career with the Buffalo Bills and was a part of then-offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's system, was brought onto the roster due to his familiarity with that system and to initially serve as the team's starting option in 2024. 

However, Singletary would suffer an injury that caused him to miss two games in Weeks 6 and 7. In that span, his teammate in rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. would ascend from the backup role to take over the starting job for the remainder of the season as he flashed one of the best novice rushing resumes with 839 yards and five touchdowns. 

In the first four games before Tracy took over the job, Singletary was a consistent presence in the Giants' offensive game plan, but had modest running statistics. He held at least 10 carries per game and collected as much as 95 yards in that span, the latter number coming in Week 2 against Washington. 

Then, Tracy was thrust into the mix against Seattle, where he had an 18-carry, 129-yard afternoon in the Giants' 29-20 road win, one of his three 100-yard games last season, and the rest is history for the campaign. His veteran teammate would have five more games with at least seven carries, but only to tally as much as 40 rushing yards in those contests. 

Now, Singletary is entering the 2025 season trying to remain relevant in the Giants’ busier backfield. Tracy is most likely set to be the No. 1 guy, and then there could be an underrated competition between him and rookie Cam Skattebo for the No. 2 running back role. 

Skattebo has already dealt with some early bumps in training camp, and that could lead to an increased role for Singletary in the interim. Still, he’s going to have to perform well to be trusted with some ground reps this season as the Giants look to improve on an area of the game that they lacked last fall. 

The most likely scenario is that Singletary will be one of the three backs on the 53-man roster come September, and then we’ll see if he can have that presence that Daboll envisioned for his old back from Buffalo last season.

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