NFL.com's top 15 offensive players at midpoint
NFL.com analyst (and former Giants QB) David Carr compiled his list of the top 15 offensive players at the midpoint of the season. It should come as no surprise that the list featured Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
"Barkley has strung together one of the best starts to a season in his career, averaging 97.4 rush yards per game and ranking third in rushing (779 yards) at the midway point," wrote Carr. "He's been a tremendous asset to an up-and-coming Giants team that's become a sure-fire playoff contender at 6-2. A lot of the team's offensive success is attributed to Barkley, as he's forced defenses to honor the run game, giving Daniel Jones and the pass game a chance to make plays."
Barkley came in at No. 11 on Carr's list.
In addition to ranking third in the league in rushing yards, as Carr noted, Barkley also has the third-most total yards from scrimmage with 968.
Barkley has averaged 97.4 rushing yards per game this season. If the 25-year-old continues at this pace, he will easily top his previous career-high of 81.7 yards on the ground per game set during his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2018.
Here are the full rankings of Carr's top 15 offensive players this season.
- QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- WR Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins,
- QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
- QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
- RB Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
- RB Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
- WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
- TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
- QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
- RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
- WR Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
- QB Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
- WR Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
- QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Julian Love takes over Xavier McKinney's play-calling duties
Xavier McKinney and Julian Love have been virtually inseparable on the football field since the Giants began their offseason workouts in April.
The team's starting safeties, they sit next to each other in meetings, share play-calling duties in practice and have lined up in tandem for all but 43 of the Giants' 506 defensive snaps this season (Love missed most of the Oct. 2 victory against Chicago with a concussion).
But McKinney is sidelined for at least a month with a "couple" of broken fingers suffered in an accident in Cabo San Lucas last Wednesday (Nov. 2), when the Giants were on their bye. His absence gave Love a strange feeling during the team's walkthrough Monday and practice yesterday.
"Every practice, we've been out there," Love said. "Every game, we've been out there. To line up in the warmup line and not have him next to me, I think that's when it first hit me. It's weird. We have the same conversations each day, it seems like. It's been a routine for months, and it's definitely different. I'd be kidding myself if I said that it's not different."
Giants sign DT Aaron Crawford to practice squad; DB Olaijah Griffin released
The New York Giants yesterday signed defensive tackle Aaron Crawford to the practice squad. In a corresponding move, the team released defensive back Olaijah Griffin from the practice squad.
The 6-foot-1, 315-pound Crawford started his career with Baltimore as an undrafted rookie out of North Carolina in 2020, when Wink Martindale was the Ravens' defensive coordinator. Crawford appeared in his only NFL game that season before being released this past September.
Crawford was named Honorable Mention All-ACC in 2019 after recording nine tackles for loss and 31 stops (ranked fifth among all Power 5 interior defensive linemen).
The Giants claimed Griffin off waivers from the Bills in August.
Re-live the season with the best photos from the Giants' 2022 playoff campaign.