New York Giants: Cool the Saquon Barkley hype

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley may be as good as advertised in year one, but all would do well to pump the brakes on the hype machine.

Unless you responded to the New York Giants going 3-13 last season by taking a sabbatical from the NFL (and who could blame you?), you’ve probably read and heard all the hype surrounding running back Saquon Barkley, the Penn State star selected by Big Blue with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Barkley was a dynamic playmaker in college capable of scoring from just about anywhere on the field. He tests off the charts. He’s a workout freak. If he were here, he’d consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his…well, you know the movie quote.

Somewhat humorously, it’s not just fans hyping Barkley to be the second coming of Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson. You wouldn’t have to search long to find former players and respected football minds fawning over the 21-year-old as if he broke the mold for what future ball-carriers will be. This isn’t meant to disparage those individuals or their opinions. It’s just a lot to consume months ahead of the preseason.

As Matt Lombardo of NJ.com wrote, former New York Jets running back Curtis Martin said the following of Barkley: “I don’t think there’s anyone who came out this year who is more talented. Maybe in the last few years.”

Defensive end Justin Tuck, beloved by Giants fans for his contributions to the club, called Barkley the best overall player in the draft, per Lombardo.

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Then there’s quarterback Eli Manning, the two-time Super Bowl MVP who has experienced the highest of highs and, some would say, the lowest of lows during his career. According to Tom Rock of Newsday, Manning recently poured the cold water of realistic expectations over the hype fire at an event:

"“You’ve just got to let him get here and kind of earn his [stripes],” Manning said. “I know he’s very talented. I’m just excited to get him in the facility, get him on the practice field and work with him . . . We have to get him in. We have to get him in and get him to learn the system.”"

Of course Manning would be the one sensible and levelheaded person in the forest of people clamoring for Barkley to break rookie records and be his position’s version of Odell Beckham Jr. directly out of the gates. Manning, now 37 years old, has been booed off of his own home field, and he’s been the subject of rumors regarding a Hoboken street or lane being named after him following a Super Bowl win.

He also probably remembers analysts and fans predicting the Giants to emerge as Super Bowl contenders ahead of the 2017 campaign. That didn’t happen for a variety of reasons, but the main point is it didn’t happen. Paper champions win nothing until they take earn it on the field. Workout numbers mean little on football Sundays. College highlights don’t impress professional opposing defenses.

The practice of comparing Barkley to Dallas Cowboys back Ezekiel Elliott has to stop, if only because it’s unfair to the first-year pro. Elliott’s talent is undeniable, but he was also gifted with the opportunity of rushing behind the best offensive line in the league during his rookie season. The Giants took steps to bolster its line, but we still don’t know how it will perform as a cohesive unit once snaps start to count against the record.

There’s so much to like about Barkley that it is seemingly unfathomable he won’t be a star who immediately helps the Giants and flirts with running away with Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He’s everything one would want in a back. He possesses video-game speed for a player his size. He’s a weapon in the passing game. He can block. By all accounts, he’s a tremendous young man away from the football field. He may be saving a cat stuck in a tree somewhere in the Bronx as you read this sentence.

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Giants fans, and everybody else examining and admiring Barkley, should follow in Manning’s footsteps. Breathe. Relax. Let Barkley evolve at his pace. Maybe he’ll never be an all-time great. Perhaps it will take him longer than anticipated to reach his high ceiling. He could go on to be the next Jim Brown, if not better. Remember, though, that with great hype comes great responsibility and also a greater chance of a letdown.

William Wallace was captured and executed, after all.