Will Cam Skattebo Bang His Way Back To Fantasy Football Prominence?
Ian Hartitz breaks down the New York Giants RB room, highlighting Cam Skattebo's return from a gruesome season-ending injury.
We need more Cam Skattebo in our lives. The bulldozer runs into defenders. The back flips after scoring touchdowns. The ripping off of T-shirts before screaming primally, for really not much reason than a postgame interview. That's why his severe leg injury that knocked him out midway through last season really hurt, especially fantasy managers. Now can Skattebo get back to where he was pre-injury? Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his New York Giants Team Preview.
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Is Cam Skattebo THE Zero-RB target of 2026?
- RB1: Cam Skattebo (RB19 in Fantasy Life ranks)
- RB2: Tyrone Tracy (RB44)
- RB3: Devin Singletary
On the one hand, Skattebo did some really cool things in 2025. The jackhammer alpha male's unique ability to thrive between the tackles and on the outside as a receiver made him a bit of a fantasy godsend: Skattebo's 16 PPR points per game were good for the ninth-highest mark among all running backs to play at least eight games last season! And he didn't even get his first start until Week 4!
While the Arizona State product isn't likely to win many foot races against NFL defensive backs, this is a fun player who did a lot of good things during the first portion of his career.
On the other hand, Skattebo is recovering from an open-ankle dislocation, ruptured deltoid and fractured fibula. In my unprofessional medical opinion: That's not ideal! In May, Skattebo noted that he is still "a little way off," but does expect to be ready for Week 1. Not the world's greatest update considering back in March, GM Joe Schoen said the rising second-year bowling ball was expected to be ready for the team's offseason program.
Of course, Skattebo being ready for Week 1 is just one problem. The other half of the equation is just how effective the 24-year-old will be in the immediate aftermath. Both Dr. Jeff Mueller and Dr. Deepak Chona believe that while the most likely scenario is a return by Week 1, it could be closer to midseason before we actually see Skattebo operating at full strength.
Good news: The potential dropoff in efficiency seems to be more than baked into his present ADP, and the Giants' lack of additional moves at the position throughout the offseason sure makes it look like he'll remain THE running back, y'all, for this new coaching staff. Our fantasy football projections have accordingly dinged Skattebo's rushing efficiency (3.9 yards per carry), but his workload is still heavy enough to earn the position's 17th-highest projection in total PPR points.
The RB19 (pick 44) in early ADP, Skattebo is just that in Fantasy Life consensus rank, but he'll be pushing for familiar top-12 treatment as soon as we see him functioning at something close to full health. That's not a bad deal, and accordingly, he profiles as a pretty great Round 4-5 option for drafters who refrained from clicking anyone at the position in the first few rounds.
Also note: Tyrone Tracy averaged 18.1 opportunities per game following Skattebo's season-ending ankle injury. Singletary was involved as well, but it's the 26-year-old rising third-year talent who deserves the benefit of the doubt when assessing who Skattebo's handcuff really is. Now, the new coaching staff could always change things; just realize the lack of ANY additions to this backfield throughout the offseason sure seems to cement the pecking order as is. Tracy is a quality second-tier handcuff in the same vein as guys like Woody Marks and Isiah Pacheco: Dudes unlikely to have too much standalone value, but they'll be on the cover of waiver wire articles should anything happen to their team's starter.
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