dion lewis

Coming off a challenging sophomore season with the New York Giants, Saquon Barkley is poised to make a booming return in 2020.  Following a strong draft that revitalized a struggling offensive line with bright, young talent, everything’s in place for Barkley to have his best season yet.  Back to his ridiculous workouts and staying as active as he can, Barkley is ready to be the weekly 20+ rushing attempts running back the Giants have been in need of.

Although Barkley certainly seems to be almost inhumane with his athleticism and talent, everyone saw last season that injuries can sideline even the best of the best, including Barkley.  To prepare for the worst, the Giants signed running back Dion Lewis, a veteran who not only compliments Barkley’s skill set but also brings tremendous versatility.  At only 5’8”, Lewis has a low center of gravity that provides him with remarkable quickness, shiftiness, and balance that is very difficult to defend against.  Playing with the likes of LeSean McCoy, Tom Brady, James White and Derrick Henry, Lewis has learned from some of the best players in the league.  And coming off three straight seasons where he’s played all 16 games, Lewis has shown why he’s such a valuable and resilient asset (ESPN).

But ever since the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2017, Lewis’s numbers have certainly taken a hit and so has his role.  Transitioning more and more into a second or third-string running back, there’s a reason behind Lewis’s decline in productivity and it’s fair to question his worth.  James White outplayed him and took his role in New England and Derrick Henry virtually showed last season that the Titans really don’t need him.  With Barkley’s role only growing in size to the likes of Henry, it’s certainly hard not to wonder if Lewis may find himself in a similar situation that he had in Tennessee, which led to his inevitable exit.

That being said, Lewis makes for one of the most underappreciated running backs in the league and offers plenty of talent the Giants could use on offense.  Even though Lewis is a running back, what really makes him so special is his ability to catch the ball.  In fact, Lewis rarely failed to catch a ball thrown his way last season.  If you look at his game log, he went 3-4 against Cleveland in week 1, 4-5 against Atlanta in week 4, 3-3 against Denver in week 6, 5-5 against Carolina in week 9, and he also logged in another six games where he went 1-1 (ESPN).

Lewis has some of the best hands in the league for his position and when it comes to passing third down plays, remains to be an excellent weapon for quarterback Daniel Jones to pass to, be it on screenplays or dump off tosses.  To give you an idea, Lewis had 25 receptions out of 32 targets last season, essentially reining in a little over 78% of the passes thrown his way (ESPN).

Out of those 25 receptions, he caught 10 of them for 61 yards on 3rd down, averaging 6.1 yards per catch (ESPN).  Although Barkley can be put in on third-down passing plays as well, Lewis makes for a better fit for this role and will make it nearly impossible for linebackers to defend him out of the backfield.  In addition, Lewis is also pretty clutch when called upon, collecting 9 receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown all in the 4th quarter last season (ESPN).

At the end of it all, Lewis is the full package.  Whether the Giants choose to line him up in the slot or use him out of the backfield, Lewis knows how to maximize his skill set in whatever situation you put him in.  Furthermore, with Barkley handling the vast majority of the run game, the Giants needed another running back that can excel at everything else Barkley doesn’t do or provide for his team, and Lewis is the right man for that job.

Moreover, Barkley is still quite young, and Lewis brings excellent knowledge and insight that could really elevate Barkley’s understanding of his position to another level.  Prior to his arrival, Barkley had Wayne Gallman and Jonathan Hilliman as his backups, two running backs who don’t bring a whole lot of experience and flexibility to meld around Barkley’s role.  But with Lewis, it’s a completely different ball game.  Providing a level of balance that compliments Barkley’s play exceptionally well, Dion Lewis was a great find and has everything at his disposal to thrive as a backup with the New York Giants.

There’s not a ton of areas the New York Giants have excelled in the past years, but ever since drafting Saquon Barkley, the team has had an edge at running back – at least when Barkley is healthy, which wasn’t for the majority of last season. And it looks like this year, the Giants could be set for another strong season at the position if the addition of Dion Lewis as the number two works out and Barkley remains healthy throughout the year.

Their talent at the position this year has drawn some attention from the wider media, with Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller placing the Giants within the top ten backfields in the league.

This is largely thanks to Saquon Barkley, who should only be better in 2020 if the Giants can stay healthy up front and if second-year quarterback Daniel Jones becomes enough of a threat to keep defenses from loading the box. On pure talent, there is no better back than Barkley in the NFL, but he has to put it together in terms of production. A 2,000-total-yard season should be the expectation for him.

Barkley had 1003 yards last year, a drop of 300 or so from his production in his rookie season, and his touchdowns also fell from double digits down to six – but the problem had less to do with a legitimate slump and more to do with injury. The Giants brought Barkley back relatively quickly, and it showed in his play as in some games, he still appeared to be playing before he was ready.

The player that the Giants have brought in to back up Barkley, Dion Lewis, has had declining production. However, that may have more to do with playing behind Derrick Henry rather than skill. Lewis had 896 yards in his last season with the Patriots and depending on how the Giants use him could perform better than he did with the Titans.

The Giants have also, of course, made some changes to their offensive line which may help the running game. After taking a tackle in the top five, returning Saquon Barkley for another year, and signing Dion Lewis, the Giants may just be able to say that the running game is one area where the team is competent.

The New York Giants have a new running back in town this year, but unlike previous years when each season brought the question of who the top dog would be at the position, we already know who the established starter is. Saquon Barkley is running the show for the Giants at the running back spot, but the Giants have recently signed some help for him by bringing in Dion Lewis on a one year deal.

Lewis, who may be most known for his run with the Patriots, backed up Derrick Henry with the Titans last season and will move into a similar role behind Barkley barring more injury trouble for the existing Giants starter. He rushed for 209 yards last year, but it was a drop from his first year with the Titans where he rushed for 517 yards and his last season in New England where he had six touchdowns.

It remains to be seen if the Giants will get more value out of Lewis than the Titans managed, after the Patriots showed more of his potential. In a recent conference call, however, Lewis stated that his position behind Barkley doesn’t bother him.

“Obviously with a player like Saquon, you want him on the field as much as possible. He’s one of the better backs in this league and I understand that,” Lewis said.

In fact, Lewis went as far as to describe the situation with the Giants as the perfect opportunity, thanks to a number of factors including growing up a Giants fan.

“It was a perfect and a unique opportunity. There were a lot of factors. Joe Judge being there, me having a relationship with him with my three years in New England. Also I grew up a Giants fan so it was always a dream of mine to play for them so when I got the opportunity in these circumstances I couldn’t pass it up,” Lewis admitted.

“I’m looking forward to working with coach Joe Judge, playing for my hometown team and getting to work with Saquon as well,” he continued.

Wayne Gallman is still on the roster of the Giants which poses an interesting competition for the backup spot this season, one that may be impacted by the playcalling style of the new coaching staff – which has yet to be revealed, thanks to Joe Judge’s status as a first time coach who has never coordinated an offense before. No matter what style the team runs, though, running back is one of the few positions where the Giants can fortunately say that they’re set for the season.