PHOENIX — The New York Giants are intimately familiar with the running back market.

No reminders are needed of the Saquon Barkley experience. The Giants are a different franchise now, with a new coaching staff in charge and a quarterback, Jaxson Dart, who has established himself as a potential long-term answer. There’s also another top running back in this year’s draft fueling conversation around the value of utilizing a top pick at that position.

In what some might consider a “weak” draft class, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love has emerged as some experts’ top overall prospect. Cue a familiar conversation on the positional value of the running back. For those arguing that the Giants only recently moved on from a top back, general manager Joe Schoen pointed out how much has changed.

“This year’s draft, we talked a little bit about the surplus value, and some of the better players in the draft may not typically be in the highest-paid positions outside of that, so you’re at the mercy of what’s available,” Schoen said. “Where we are right now is a different place than the Saquon situation. Again, we got a young quarterback, we have a number one receiver, we got (right tackle) Jermaine Eluemunor, the offensive line is stronger. So we’re going to take the best player available, regardless of position, that will help the New York Giants.”

Schoen’s comments on Monday came after new coach John Harbaugh spoke at the 2026 annual league meetings.

“I think you recognize all that. But the business is football,” Harbaugh said. “You know, we are a football business. That’s what we do. And, you know, we’re trying to make our fans happy. We want to win games.

“And to do that, we’ve got to build the very best team we can. So you build the best team you can with the best players you can get. You know, and you put them out there, and you let them play. So that’s where it starts.”

When pressed on Love specifically, Harbaugh added many “very’s”: “I’d probably put very, very good player. Put a couple very’s in front of that, maybe a couple more. He’s really good.”

Harbaugh is gearing up for his first draft with a new team in 18 seasons. The Giants hold the No. 5 pick. Love could very well be in contention for that selection.

That’s if the Giants hold on to the pick in the first place. If the opportunity to trade back presents itself, Harbaugh said they “definitely would be interested in that.” But it’s about working the math out and what it’d take to trade away from each person in each scenario.

That starts more seriously this week with draft meetings kicking off Thursday. Coaches and players will be back in the building next week as well.

In addition to the No. 5 selection, the Giants are slated to have six other picks after dealing their third- and seventh-round selections (the former in last year’s trade up for Dart).

While running back is an interesting conversation given the Giants’ recent history, one of the team’s more pressing needs is a starting right guard. The team re-signed right tackle Eluemunor during free agency but only added returning depth at the guard spot.

“I think the offensive line is like our team, it’s a work in progress,” Harbaugh said. “I think we talked about it from day one, that’s where games are won and lost. That’s where it starts. We’ve got to try to build the best offensive line and the best defensive line in football. That’s got to be our goal.”

Harbaugh pointed out they still have free agency and the draft to fill roster holes. Last year’s starting right guard, Greg Van Roten, is still a free agent, and Schoen said he is “not out of the mix at all.”

But overall, Harbaugh felt that his first go at free agency with the Giants went well, and the team is in good shape as it heads toward the draft.

“You don’t want to go to the buffet table hungry,” Harbaugh said. “(I) think we’re in good position where we don’t have to chase any specific need. But at the same time we understand we still have needs. So that’s going to be a factor in what we do.”