What on earth are the Giants going to do?
They no longer have Saquon Barkley and have a trio of inexperienced running backs with zero NFL experience behind capable replacement Devin Singletary.
How can this team know if they have the players to play at a high enough level to overcome losing one of the league’s best backs in free agency?
“You just let them play,” coach Brian Daboll said, “that’s what we need from them. We’ve talked about it. I think early on we had a lot of questions about the youth in that room. You just let them play.”
That’s all the Giants can do, right?
Let them play and see what happens.
One preseason game doesn’t tell you much, but the Giants will like to think that Thursday’s 14-3 win over the Lions at a rainy MetLife Stadium was at least an indication of the potential of the players they have assembled in their running back corps.
Singletary was on the sideline with the rest of the starting offensive line, but all three of the Giants’ running backs looked solid or better.
The race was on to secure a roster spot and solidify the No. 2 back spot behind Singletary, and all three players contributed to that cause.
Eric Gray had an unspectacular and uninspired rookie season, but looked like a different person when he had a 48-yard touchdown run.
He also drove into the end zone on a 1-yard scoring run and caught four passes for 46 yards, including a 24-yard over-the-shoulder grab on a lob from Tommy DeVito.
Undrafted rookie Dante “Turbo” Miller led the team with 63 yards on 12 rushing attempts, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt.
Another rookie, fifth-round draft pick Tyrone Tracy, ran for 26 yards on five carries, averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
“I thought they were decisive,” Daboll said. “I didn’t think they had a lot of stutter steps. I thought they had good vision and were hitting holes. They were running in space. Gray made a good catch on a pass from Tommy. They weren’t perfect, but they were on the move most of the time. They ran hard. They had good pads. They did a good job for a first game.”
Barkley was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and his athleticism is unquestionable.
When healthy, he recorded 1,307 and 1,312 rushing yards.
Barkley’s lower body is big and strong, but his lack of confidence at the line of scrimmage was apparent and frustrated the Giants at times.
So it was interesting to hear Daboll mention “decision-making” and “very little stutter step” in analyzing the work of the three young backs.
Miller, a Columbia University and Ivy League alumnus, completed a 19-yard run and expressed relief that the training camp work was worth it in preparing him for the challenge of a preseason game.
He praised the expertise of Daboll, first-year running backs coach Joel Thomas and new special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial.
“Coach Daves, Coach Joel Thomas, Coach Gobbs, all of our coaches, they prepare us so that we can perform at our best on game day,” Miller told the Post. “When I was there, I was like, ‘Wow, they really did that. They know what’s going on, they know what we’re doing, they know the plan.’ It wasn’t too hard because they prepared us. I’m fortunate to have such great coaches coaching me.”
The Giants deployed their second- and third-team offensive lines, which rushed for 155 yards.
There were no glaring mistakes, which is a positive in a young player’s first preseason appearance.
Miller was called for holding in pass protection, but the Lions denied it.
“I thought they knew who to block and did a good job defensively,” Daboll said. “It wasn’t too complicated, but they stuck their heads in there and got fits in windows and blocked some blitzes. They ran hard. They knew what to do. Again, it’ll be good competition for the young guys, but I thought Joel Thomas did a great job developing the youth room.”
Barkley is now with the rival Eagles, so releasing him from his contract would be a major shock for the Giants.
Gray is the only active running back who was on the team with Barkley last year, and his absence cannot be ignored, even if Singletary is wearing Barkley’s No. 26 jersey.
“I think everybody feels the way you’re describing,” Gray said, “and I think everybody’s done a great job. Whether you’re young and learning the system or a guy like me, who’s in the system in his second year, just be yourself and be happy.”
