The New York Giants kept the same running back room through most of the offseason before signing Najee Harris. Assistant general manager Brandon Brown said the team monitored Harris throughout his rehabilitation and added him because he offers a different skill set that fits the offense’s identity and because he already knows senior offensive assistant Greg Roman.
“Najee offers something different,” Brown told reporters on Wednesday. “When you have a back that played at 235 before his injury that doesn’t need things blocked up cleanly for him to push the pile, and then he has a familiarity with G-Ro from L.A., those are things that you can’t just gloss over. When you have an opportunity to add talent, we’re never going to shy away from that.”
Brown described the move as added competition, not a slight to the players already in the building.
“No one was butthurt,” he said. “It was very much adding competition, and that’s the thing that’s been very cool about the meritocracy. It’s not personal. It’s just the business of making this team as good as it can be.”
The Giants now have four running backs who have produced in some form, including Cam Skattebo. Roles will not stay the same from week to week. Head coach John Harbaugh has told the group the mission is bigger than any individual assignment.
“Harbs has just been very clear of the mission being greater than yourself,” Brown said. “What are you willing to give up for the greater good of the team? And understanding that your role may not look the same game to game, and it may be different game to game, but the way that Harbs has been able to get guys in certain positions to do what they do best, that’s been the part, that’s how you maximize a room of four running backs.”
Some backs will work third down and the screen game. Others will handle inside runs, short yardage, the four-minute offense or December and January football, when the Giants need to push the pile on their own.
“Those are all things you want to have in your toolbox,” Brown said, “where you don’t want to go to a game and say, we can’t do something that’s on the menu.”
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Brandon Brown: Najee Harris offers something different for Giants
