The New York Giants could grab a potential franchise cornerstone in running back Saquon Barkley if Barkley is available come the second overall draft pick.
Fans of the New York Giants aren’t used to cheering on what would’ve been the worst team in the NFL had the Cleveland Browns not gone 0-16 last season. Thus, some appear downright perplexed regarding what Big Blue should do with the second overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. Should New York grab a potential replacement for quarterback Eli Manning? Is taking the best offensive lineman on the board the right move? Should Big Blue take running back Saquon Barkley if the Browns pass on him?
Conventional wisdom suggests spending such a high-value draft pick on any running back is silly considering the nature of the league and the fact that franchises, the Giants included, often land starting backs with less-costly selections. Sure, the Dallas Cowboys found a gem in Ezekiel Elliott, but he was fortunate to feature behind what may, not too long from now, be remembered as a historically special offensive line. The Giants won’t put such a unit in front of Barkley in the foreseeable future.
With that said, Barkley passes every eye test any scout could use for evaluating a player. His athleticism is off the charts. He has great hands. He’s a solid blocker. By all accounts, he’s a good person and a team player with no character concerns hovering over him as of the typing of this sentence. He’s a gym rat. Maybe it’s because he seems too good to be real that we in the football community are possibly overthinking his draft stock.
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Nobody should have been surprised Barkley generated headlines with impressive performances during the NFL Scouting Combine. The event was made for athletes like him. His workouts at Penn State were the stuff of legend, so much so that some went viral. There were no reasons to believe he wouldn’t excel in drills and during interviews. Barkley was ready for this moment roughly a year ago, at least:
No player, regardless of whatever numbers he posts, becomes the second pick through the combine, alone. So much can and will happen between the first Tuesday of March and the opening night of the draft. Quarterbacks will change teams once the new NFL year starts. Trades will be offered. To-be rookies will have personal meetings and workouts with clubs.
Say, for example, the Browns acquire Kirk Cousins or AJ McCarron before the draft. In such a scenario, Cleveland not taking Barkley would be silly unless a general manager made a trade offer those running the Browns couldn’t refuse. The Giants aren’t in a position to go all-in on any commodity, let alone Barkley, so the Browns could, theoretically, end this discussion before it actually begins.
If, however, Barkley is there at two, general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur will have to ask themselves a difficult question: Is there a quarterback in this draft worth risking their jobs over? That’s exactly what they’ll be doing, even if they don’t realize it, by leaving Barkley on the board and selecting a signal-caller, instead. Being safe and going with somebody such as Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson won’t cut it for a fan base that expects the franchise to do whatever possible to help Manning earn one more trip to the Super Bowl before he rides off into the sunset.
Championships aren’t won on paper, of course, but inserting Barkley’s name into the New York depth chart could terrify opposing defensive coordinators. Imagine having to account for Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram in the same game plan. Barring an injury plague infecting the Giants for a second straight season, Barkley could prove to be a missing piece that helps bring meaningful January football back to MetLife Stadium.
Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Post-Combine 3-Round projection
Gettleman and/or Shurmur may fall in love with a quarterback in this draft class. If that happens, Barkley going to the Giants wasn’t meant to be. The reasons for taking Barkley far outweigh any arguments for the Giants looking elsewhere if it’s deemed no quarterback is worth the high investment this time around. There is no “sure thing” in any draft, but Barkley is a home-run prospect. Anybody who says otherwise has an agenda or wants to show he’s the smartest guy in the room.
Barkley is the best player in the draft, he fills a need and he instantly makes the Giants better. At this point, Gettleman will have to make a case for not drafting Barkley while speaking to reporters on April 26.