As the New York Giants held their last practice of training camp before beginning the pre-season with a Thursday night game against the Cleveland Browns, first-round draft pick Saquon Barkley continued to work on his pass-catching skills out of the backfield.

The second overall pick has been studying the playbook as he works to learn an offense which is radically different from that which he ran during three years at Penn State.

He's had the chance to run out of a formation with the quarterback under center, and while sharing the backfield with a fullback, both of which are foreign for the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Before being chosen by the Giants, Barkley rushed for 3,843 yards and 43 touchdowns running out of a Nittany Lions' backfield that didn't have a single play with the quarterback under center, and didn't utilize a fullback during his three collegiate seasons.

"I think it's great to have a fullback," Barkley told NJ Advance Media following Thursday's practice. "Honestly, I've never done that in college, but [I've been] watching film and seeing the great backs set up their blocks, and how key the fullback is. I think Shane [Smith] has done a tremendous job of not only knowing what a fullback's role is, but you can put him at any position in the offense with any route, and he's going to know how to run it or he's going to know how to block it.

"So, I continue to grow in that role, and build that relationship on the field with a fullback. I really feel like that can help take my game to that next level."

John Munson may be reached at jmunson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @john_munson. Find NJ.com on Facebook.