Cam Skattebo Week 7 outlook: Start or sit vs. the Texans?

Cam Skattebo took first-team reps at Wednesday’s practice, a sign the Giants may lean back on their 2025 draft pick after benching him for fumbling issues, but Dimers’ NFL player projections model still projects a modest Week 7 against Houston.

The running back managed just six offensive snaps and no touches in last week’s loss to the Saints, a response to the costly overtime fumble that turned a near win over Washington into a 27-27 tie.

New York has since released fellow back Najee Harris, thinning the rotation but not necessarily clearing a path for Skattebo, since Harris played only 61 snaps across five games. Dimers projects Skattebo for 30.1 rushing yards and 6.1 PPR points in Sunday’s game at Houston, numbers that keep him off most fantasy lineups even with his practice reps restored.

For a deeper look at our Giants vs. Texans predictions, head over the our game page.

Scattebo's costly OT fumble started the slide

The trouble traces to October 11, when the Giants and Commanders finished 27-27 in Landover, Maryland. New York had the ball at the Washington 24 late in overtime with a chance to simply run clock toward a winning field goal. Instead, Skattebo took a handoff, was hit behind the line by Daron Payne, and lost the ball to Shy Tuttle. Washington couldn’t convert the turnover into points before time expired, but the fumble, his fourth of the season on just 81 carries, left New York with a tie instead of a win.

Head coach John Harbaugh’s staff responded the following week by all but erasing Skattebo from the game plan against New Orleans. He played six snaps with zero carries and zero targets as the Giants rotated Tyrone Tracy, Devin Singletary, and Harris.

Harbaugh denied it was a deliberate benching, saying the lack of touches “was not by design” and that “when he was in there, we didn’t call any runs.” Skattebo saw it differently, telling reporters, “I got punished for what I did.”

Check Dimers’ NFL predictions for how the Week 6 shakeup factored into New York’s loss.

Harris is out, but the backfield is still crowded

The Giants released Harris on October 20 after he managed two yards on four carries against the Saints, a move that trims the rotation to three backs. Tracy was the most productive back in Week 6, with a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and 45 scrimmage yards on eight touches, while Singletary added 33 yards on five touches in his first game back from a healthy scratch.

Skattebo’s return to first-team reps this week suggests the staff wants to see what he can do with the ball again, but with Tracy producing and Singletary still involved, there’s no guarantee of a clear path to touches.

The Dimers player projections model is fading Scattebo on Sunday vs. the Texans.

Houston’s run defense makes this a tough spot either way

Even a restored role runs into a difficult matchup. The Texans rank among the stingiest run defenses in the league, and Dimers’ latest simulations make Houston a 79.3 percent favorite for Sunday’s game at Reliant Stadium, with the Giants getting 10.5 points.

Dimers projects a 27-17 Texans win and puts the total at 42.5 points, with the over favored at 57.3 percent. A Giants offense trailing most of the afternoon isn’t one that leans on its ground game. Dimers projects Skattebo for 1.1 catches and 8.3 receiving yards to go with his rushing total, and gives him just a 17.9 percent chance of scoring any touchdown, hardly numbers that separate him from the pack in a crowded backfield.

For a deeper look at how Houston’s run defense affects every back and receiver in this game, Dimers Pro subscribers get unlimited player projections across the full Week 7 slate, updated as practice reports and snap counts come in. It’s a useful way to track whether Skattebo’s workload actually grows before locking in a lineup Sunday.