Cam Skattebo not satisfied with rookie season, Giants RB vows to produce historic numbers in 2026

There's legitimate optimism surrounding the New York Giants in 2026. They have a proven, Super Bowl-winning head coach in John Harbaugh, a potential franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart and one of the most fun running backs in the NFL in Cam Skattebo.

The fourth-round pick out of Arizona State was quick to endear himself to NFL fans with his physical running style, dedication to the art of headbutting, and his touchdown celebration which includes a backflip. In his first eight NFL games played, Skattebo rushed 101 times for 410 yards and five touchdowns, and caught 24 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns. However, the party ended during the Week 8 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, when Skattebo dislocated his ankle. 

The injury ended his season, but is not expected to affect his availability for 2026. 

"Obviously there's ups and downs in the injury process and coming back and rehabbing, but the mental battle has been the hardest part: making sure that I trust it fully," Skattebo said during a town hall event this week, per the Associated Press. "I'm a little ways out. Not too far, but I'll be ready to go. Week 1, I'll be ready to go."

While his promising rookie campaign was cut short, Skattebo was actually just one of five players to rush for 400 yards and record 200 yards receiving through Week 8, joining a list of NFL stars such as Christian McCaffrey, De'Von Achane, Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Taylor. Still, Skattebo doesn't consider 2025 a success. He's out to accomplish something that not many other NFL players have done before. 

"I do not consider that successful for me," Skattebo said of his rookie year. "I had 400 yards on 100 carries. When I play 17-plus games this year, it's going to be 300 carries for over 2,000 yards."

Naturally, that statement drew applause from the Giants fans in attendance. Only nine NFL players have ever rushed for 2,000 yards in a single season, with the last being Saquon Barkley in 2024 -- who won Offensive Player of the Year en route to a Super Bowl victory. 

2,000-yard rushing club

Skattebo averaged 51.3 rushing yards per contest last year, which averages out to 872 rushing yards should he have played in all 17 regular-season games. In order to reach 2,000 rushing yards, Skattebo would have to average over 117.6 rushing yards per game! That's quite a jump.

However, there is a caveat. Skattebo did say "17-plus games." He's predicting the Giants will make the playoffs, and that means he would have at least one extra game to reach 2,000 rushing yards. There are 18 instances of players reaching 2,000 rushing yards in a season if we include playoffs. Barkley holds the all-time record with 2,504 rushing yards in 20 games played in 2024. 

Skattebo is CBS Sports' consensus No. 16 running back in fantasy football this year (PPR). Unfortunately, our projections do not have Skattebo reaching his goal, as we predict the Giants' RB1 will rush 208 times for 907 yards and nine touchdowns. 

Even if Skattebo doesn't rush for 2,000 yards this season, he's an important part of a young Giants offense that includes Dart, Malik Nabers and free agent addition Isaiah Likely, who are looking to register New York's first winning season since 2022.