Giants add UFL rushing leader Jacob Saylors to bolster backfield

The wide-open competition for carries in the Giants ‘backfield just got a little deeper.

Jacob Saylors is signing with the Giants after working out for the team last week, according to multiple reports that emerged late Monday night and were attributed to his agent.

Saylors, 23, finished second in the United Football League in rushing yards (460 on 94 attempts) as a member of the St. Louis Battlehawks during the just-completed season.

He scored five touchdowns on the ground and three more through the air in nine games.   

Undrafted in 2023, the East Tennessee State product previously held a roster spot with the Bengals and Falcons but still is awaiting his NFL regular-season debut.

He ran for 3,851 yards and 33 touchdowns in 51 games over five collegiate seasons.

After showing in the UFL that he was past the injury that led to his January release from the Falcons, Saylors will fit right into a position group light on NFL game experience.

While durable Devin Singletary is expected to be the primary ball-carrier in the first season after Saquon Barkley’s free-agent departure to the Eagles, the rest of Giants’ depth chart features Eric Gray, Jashuan Corbin and rookies Dante Miller and Tyrone Tracy Jr.

The four backups that were in OTAs and minicamp plus the 5-foot-10, 199-pound Saylors have 18 combined career NFL rushing attempts, 17 of which belong to the Giants’ 2023 fifth-round draft pick Gray.