“He plays with great contact balance. He’s tough as nails,” former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll said about running back Cam Skattebo ahead of his rookie season. Skattebo’s rookie season was cut short due to a season-ending injury, yes. But as long as he played last year, the back showcased his contact-heavy running profile and the way the Giants used him in their physical run game.

At the same time, his playing style created questions around his durability, considering his season-ending ankle injury. And now, ahead of Skattebo’s second NFL season, three-time Super Bowl champion and FOX analyst Mark Schlereth surely praised the running back. But he also believes that Skattebo may not survive in the league for much longer.

“I don’t know how long Cam Skattebo is going to last in the National Football League, said Schlereth on The Stinkin Truth Podcast. “It may not be for more than three or four years, but dude, if he didn’t exist, you ought to create him. Like, he is just one of those dudes that you want on your team. Talk about tough, talk about a guy that goes downhill, talk about a guy that seeks out contact, that’s what Cam Skattebo is, and he’s the perfect fit for what they’re trying to do with the New York Giants playing bully ball.”

Schlereth’s assessment of Skattebo aligns with the back’s collegiate and short NFL career. During his 2024 season at Arizona, Skattebo rushed for 1,711 yards and 21 touchdowns on 293 carries, while adding 605 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. At the same time, he forced 66 missed tackles on rushing plays during the season and had accumulated 2,338 career rushing yards after contact across his college football career.

That led the Giants to select him in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, as Cam Skattebo went on to have a great start to his rookie campaign. In 8 games, he rushed for 410 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also adding 207 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns.

During the 2025 Giants’ 34-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6, he ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Meanwhile, 78 out of his 98 rushing yards came after contact. So, it’s safe to say that Cam Skattebo has been a perfect fit for the Giants’ physical run game.

However, it’s also worth noting that his durability could be the reason why Schlereth believes that the 24-year-old may not survive more than 3-4 years in the NFL. Against the Eagles in the Week 8 matchup, Cam Skattebo suffered an open tibia fracture and ruptured deltoid ligament in addition to a right ankle dislocation.

Subsequently, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season, giving the Giants another setback, as the team was already dealing with wide receiver Malik Nabers’ season-ending injury. Now, with the 2026 regular season almost here, the RB has acknowledged that he’ll try to get fewer hits in his second NFL season.

“I think Coach [John Harbaugh] loves that I run right over the top of people. Physicality is his No. 1 thing, and it gets the [offensive] line going even more,” he said. “So, obviously, as I came back from injury, I’m learning how to take less hits and try to maneuver better around people instead of through them and realizing that I could have got four more yards if I would have just taken a step to the left.

“I think those are things that I’m just going to continue to add to my game and add to my bag of tools that I can pull from to make sure that I stay healthy and I stay successful.”

The Giants are entering the 2026 season under new head coach John Harbaugh. While optimism is certainly high in New York, it’s worth noting that the team is also returning to the field after dealing with multiple injuries across the roster during the 2025 season.