No. 1 running back the Giants should target for life without Saquon Barkley: Dalvin Cook
When it comes down to it, the closest the Giants could get to having a running back of Saquon Barkley’s caliber in their backfield is Dalvin Cook.
Cook matched Barkley’s 4.4 yards per carry from 2022, totalling 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns while playing in all 17 games for the first time in his career.
Yes, some of his efficiency numbers took a dip, but the fact is, without the unique combination of the Vikings cap issues and his upper-end contract, he’d still be in Minnesota.
Teams just don’t want to pay $12 million per year for a running back these days, no matter how good they may be. That’s exactly why Barkley and the Giants are in this mess.
So Cook is the best back out there. Is he better than Barkley? No. He’s also two years older. But the numbers could make sense if the market continues to hold down running back contracts.
Miles Sanders, who had 1,269 yards on 4.9 yards per carry last year, got the most lucrative deal of the offseason so far at $6.2 million per year over four years, with just $13 million guaranteed. David Montgomery got $6 million per year. Jamaal Williams got $4 million per year.
If the Giants could get Cook at anything in that ballpark, it would make a whole lot of sense to rescind Barkley’s franchise tag tender and just move on.