New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh will always be a special teams coach. While the offense and defense get the lion’s share of the attention, Harbaugh won’t let the special teams atrophy for the sake of the other sides of the ball.
And special teams will be the path to the 53-man roster for former TCU running back Kevorian Barnes.
Barnes is a compact running back at 5-foot-9, 220 pounds, and has certain similarities to Cam Skattebo in his game. He isn’t fast, with a 4.62-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day, but has a great combination of vision, contact balance, and natural leverage. He does a great job of bouncing off of would-be tacklers and falling forward for yards after contact, as well as using subtle moves and a sudden jump-cut to make defenders miss in the hole.
Barnes spent the first four years of his career at UTSA where he was a productive back for the Roadrunners. He averaged 6.3 yards per carry in 2022 and 4.9 YPC in 2023, with 6 touchdowns in each season. He had a disappointing season in 2024 before transferring to TCU in 2025 and returning to his previous form with 4.6 yards per carry and 3 touchdowns on just 97 carries. Barnes’ season got off to a red-hot start with 113 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries (10.3 YPC) in the first game against North Carolina, however he suffered a “lower leg” injury in week two that limited his season to just 7 games overall.
Here is a scouting report from Emory Hunt’s Football Gameplan draft guide:
Strengths:
Areas of Improvement:
Barnes’ stocky and powerful style will be a stark contrast to Dante Miller this offseason. Turbo Miller is a fan-favorite back with home-run speed, however he has yet to make his way off the practice squad. Barnes doesn’t have the same explosiveness, but he could be a more dependable down-to-down option.
The question is whether Barnes can establish himself as a core special teams player to get his foot in the door.
