Just six weeks into his pro football career, Giants rookie Cam Skattebo is making a name for himself with his bruising, energetic running style on the field, combined with an outsized personality.
And one notable sports figure can’t figure out why he dropped into the fourth round of the NFL draft.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy spoke about the headline-generating running back on Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” on Saturday and, in the process, called out NFL front offices for missing his talent.
“Well, today’s rant is about the morons in front offices in the NFL, and people think you have to somehow have an official job to know ball — that’s wrong. Cam Skattebo, right now, he is the talk of the football world, not just college, pro — everything. He’s on fire, everyone’s talking about it.
“My question is this: How does a guy who is unbelievable in college, and he single-handedly almost beat Texas to send [Arizona State] to the championship? He was the best running back in the country. He slips to the fourth round. I am so sick.”
Skattebo put on a show in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals for the Sun Devils, running for 143 yards and adding 99 more on eight catches.
He even threw a 42-yard touchdown in an overtime Peach Bowl loss to the Longhorns.
Though he led the Big 12 with 1,711 rushing yards in 2024, Skattebo was taken in the fourth round by the Giants — and the eighth running back selected overall.
He’s now taken over as the lead back for the Giants and had a breakout game against the rival Eagles on Thursday, rushing for a career-high 98 yards with three touchdowns as Big Blue won its biggest game of the year. His 338 yards on the ground lead the Giants.
Portnoy believes Skattebo has been integral in changing things for the Giants this year.
“We give people too much credit. I knew Cam Skattebo was a great player,” Portnoy said. “He loves football. He’s changed the culture of that team. We sit back with these people who collect paychecks and just assume they know what they’re doing because they watch football. You know who watches more football than they do? Me with these two eyes. I watch everything, every game, and I’m sick of people not believing.
“You go to the combine. ‘Oh, he’s got to run this, he’s gonna jump this.’ The guy is a winner, loves football, bangs his head into brick walls, start trusting people like me, Cam Skattebo. How did he ever get to the fourth round?”
Skattebo and the Giants can look to build off their momentum in Week 7 against the Broncos.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
