New York Giants: Browns gifting Saquon Barkley to Big Blue?

By using the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft on a QB, the Cleveland Browns would be gifting running back Saquon Barkley to the New York Giants.

The Cleveland Browns are spending the first overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft on a quarterback. This won’t officially be confirmed until the opening night of the draft, but it is the overwhelming, and maybe the unanimous, opinion among respected journalists, beat reporters, radio personalities and others who cover the team and the NFL.

On March 20, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News explained during a segment on Cleveland radio station 92.3 The Fan that he believes the New York Jets are working as if Gang Green believes the Browns will select USC product Sam Darnold.

Earlier in the week, ESPN Cleveland personality and reporter Tony Grossi wrote why he thinks the Browns using the No. 1 pick on a quarterback is the call for what has been the worst franchise in the league in recent memory:

"(Browns general manager John) Dorsey was given the marching order from owner Jimmy Haslam to find the future quarterback. Haslam made a point of saying it at Dorsey’s introduction. Even after trading for veteran QB Tyrod Taylor, putting off the selection of a quarterback until No. 4 would breach Dorsey’s responsibility.The Giants at No. 2 and the Jets at No. 3 very well could choose the top two quarterbacks if the Browns pass on one at No. 1. Taking the third-best quarterback at No. 4 is not an option."

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Neither Mehta nor Grossi are carelessly spitballing with their recent comments. Despite knowing what they may know but cannot confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt, both realize the Browns once again settling on a quarterback isn’t happening. Dorsey and his staff must fall in love with a quarterback, use the first pick on that prospect and proceed from there.

Unless a team such as the Buffalo Bills offer the Browns a historic ransom for the pick, those hoping to lead the Dawg Pound out of the basement of the overall league standings are all who stand between the Giants taking the quarterback of their choice. Of course, those of us not in the Giants’ war room can say, with any certainty, who is atop their draft board. Maybe it’s the previously mentioned Darnold. Perhaps UCLA’s Josh Rosen, linked with the Giants in multiple mock drafts out there, will end up in Cleveland. We just don’t know.

The Browns taking any of the top-rated quarterbacks with the first pick would leave Penn State running back Saquon Barkley there for the Giants. Barkley is, at absolute worst, second on the majority of lists for best players available in this year’s draft class. With all due respect to Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson, Giants fans around the country will consider traveling to MetLife Stadium to run GM Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur out of New Jersey if Big Blue takes an offensive lineman with such a high pick.

Giants fans may feel disappointed if Gettleman and Shurmur take Barkley over a quarterback, but one wouldn’t have to stretch to understand their rationale. Barkley is the highest-rated running back prospect to enter the draft since Ezekiel Elliott, who has been a revelation in the backfield of the Dallas Cowboys when he has been on the field. Unlike with Elliott, there are no character concerns hovering over Barkley’s status as of the typing of this sentence. He’s from New York and would likely love playing for the Giants.

Former New York defensive end Justin Tuck would go all-in on Barkley if given the chance. “He gives them so many options as a third-down back, as a guy that can take a lot of pressure off of the O-line, make guys miss, but also added value in the pass game for Eli [Manning] out of the backfield. A New York product. I think he is the most dynamic player in the draft right now,” Tuck explained during an Alliance of American Football event on Tuesday, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post.

Perhaps Tuck has some inside information. Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News wrote the following for a piece published Tuesday afternoon:

"And you’ll be interested to know: I’ve been told that the Giants, while they’re doing significant homework on quarterbacks, too, have shown the most interest in Barkley of any team at the top of the draft. That includes the amount of interviews, meetings and inquiries they’ve completed to gauge if he’s their guy at No. 2.It could just be due diligence. It could be a sign of something more."

Barring a shocking trade or unfortunate injury changing things between now and the start of summer, 37-year old Eli Manning will be New York’s starting quarterback even if the Giants use the second pick on a rookie signal-caller. The question, thus, must be asked: Why wouldn’t a Giants side that is trying to win a championship as quickly as possible with Manning leading the offense not use the second-most valuable pick in the draft on a playmaker who could help make New York’s offense that much more formidable?

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Post-free agency 3 rounds

In different ways on the same day, Tuck and Leonard both argued the Giants may not be able to pass on Barkley. A pair of reporters with zero personal agendas regarding this matter believe Barkley won’t be the first overall pick. If the PSU back is there for the taking, the Giants will be able to grab him and move on, choose a different player or sell to the highest bidder. Selling on Barkley is a risk that could cost Gettleman and Shurmur their jobs before the end of the decade, especially if Tuck’s evaluation is spot-on.

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