New York Giants: Defending the Saquon Barkley pick

Saquon Barkley is the only bright spot for the New York Giants in mid-October, and he also provides hope for the team’s future.

Hopefully your phone and computer screens have not melted from the hot takes about the New York Giants drafting running back Saquon Barkley now that Big Blue is sitting at 1-5 and on the cusp of a rebuild that will include moving on from two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.

With every New York loss, television and radio analysts, not to mention beat reporters and other observers, cannot help but wonder what might have been had the Giants used the second overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft on a quarterback rather than on Barkley.

Relax, Giants fans. Breathe in and out. Enjoy the fact that you have a little extra time before you have to watch your favorite team play, and probably lose, on Monday Night Football. There will come a time when one will truly be able to adequately grade the 2018 NFL Draft and evaluate which teams got it right and which swung and missed. Now isn’t that day regardless of what certain national television programs want you to believe.

You don’t need access to All-22 videos to understand Barkley is a special talent. The 21-year old is a nightmare to bring down for would-be tacklers. He has breakaway speed, and can find the figurative next gear seemingly at the snap of fingers. Barkley is a useful weapon in the passing attack, as he possesses excellent hands. In short, he’s the type of back one would build using a create-a-player mode found in a video game.

The comparisons to Barry Sanders are not all complimentary. Mostly, some have pointed out how Sanders never really had a top-tier moment during a January game. Such evaluations of Sanders’ career are nothing new. In 2007, ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio gave reasons for why Sanders, one of the greatest ball-carriers in NFL history, is overrated.

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It’s been six games. Six. Many trick-or-treaters out there haven’t yet chosen their costumes. Just as nobody should be taking measurements for Barkley’s gold jacket, those lamenting that the Giants didn’t draft a quarterback with such a high draft pick should realize that we still don’t know what any of the first-year signal-callers in the NFL will and won’t be. Yeah, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold look good; Mayfield appears to be a franchise savior for the Cleveland Browns.

On Saturday afternoon, former Giants quarterback and current analyst Phil Simms tweeted that there are a handful of promising college quarterbacks who “will have a chance to be a starter in NFL.”

It was almost as if Simms was trying to inform panicking New York supporters that the window to find Manning’s successor hadn’t closed just because the 2018 NFL Draft has come and gone. There are, in fact, some talented pass-throwers in college football this fall who will enter the league next year.

It’s not Barkley’s fault the current Giants are going to lose more than they win and are probably headed towards owning yet another top-five pick. He’s part of the solution, or at least he is hoped to be as of the middle of October. Contrary to what some who may or may not have agendas are saying, the Giants can build around Barkley and still find a franchise quarterback before the end of the decade. It’s possible.

Is Kyle Lauletta the long-term answer for the Giants? No, probably not. How many quarterbacks drafted outside of the third round in the past 10 years became starters? With that said, let’s maybe see him in action before we automatically assume that he will perform even worse than Manning in the current lineup.

The Giants could also look to a proven commodity to serve as a bridge quarterback for a year or two. Nick Foles is going to want to start for a team in 2019. Tyrod Taylor probably won’t be doing anything of note come March. Sure, the Giants probably dropped the ball in not signing Teddy Bridgewater, but he’ll be available come the end of the season. All is not lost.

1-5 isn’t fun. Nobody can say otherwise. The Giants absolutely can win a Super Bowl with Barkley on the roster. Anybody attempting to debunk that claim is plain incorrect. Sure, the organization will have to worry about paying him down the road. That’s a problem for those running the franchise in 2021.

For now, arguably the most promising running back in the game is on a team-friendly contract. The Giants landed a gem, even if he doesn’t play the most important position in pro sports.