New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo took the league by storm early in the 2025 season, garnering interest as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. Had he stayed healthy, he might have captured the award.
It’s been exactly three months and 11 days since Skattebo suffered that gruesome leg injury against the Philadelphia Eagles, and his recovery is going well.
Recently, former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew appeared on the 89 with Steve Smith and James Palmer podcast. As someone who has been a Skattebo fan from Day 1, MJD graded Skattebo’s rookie season.
Before they get to the grades, Palmer and MJD discussed why the former running back was so high on Skattebo in the draft. MJD rehashed Skattebo’s ability to catch the ball, to pick up blitzes, to run through people, and the vision he has on the field.
“I saw a football player,” he said.
It’s among the highest compliments you can give a player, and he’s not wrong.
The two discussed the difficulty scouts have when watching a player who has no comparison. You can watch a player and know he’s the right choice, but how can a scout go back to his organization and suggest drafting someone when there’s no real projection of what they’ll do?
“Skattebo is a unicorn,” Jones-Drew said. “Very similar that Derrick Henry is a unicorn, right? And I want to say this, too, because Derrick fell to the second round because he was so big, and they hadn’t seen a guy like that since Eddie George. It had been so many years that Eddie George’s team had to draft him [Henry], you know what I mean? That was the only team that felt comfortable drafting him. And it’s those types of things that I think people miss out on great talent with.”
As a full supporter and Cam Skattebo fan, Jones-Drew gave the following grades:
- Between the tackles: A
- Explosive plays: B
- Pass protection: A
- Growth: B
- Overall: A-
Currently, Skattebo is on track to make it back to the field by training camp. That bodes well for the Giants’ 2026 season, their first under John Harbaugh.
