Most overrated player on every NFL team in the 2022 season
By Randy Gurzi
New York Giants: Saquon Barkley, RB
This one was harder than it should have been since the New York Giants have several players who completely fell short of expectations. Quarterback Daniel Jones was a first-round pick and took over for Eli Manning. Heading into the 2022 season, there’s a strong feeling he could have one foot out the door.
There’s also Kenny Golladay who was supposed to fix their receiving corps after signing with New York following four seasons with the Lions. Golladay proved to be a major disappointment in his first year with the Giants, catching just 37 passes for 521 yards with no touchdowns.
As much as those two have let the team down, they might no longer be overrated since they’re widely considered issues for New York. Having said that, there’s one other player who has sorely let them down but still has some believers out there — Saquon Barkley.
The Giants took Barkley at No. 2 overall in 2018 and he had a ton of success as a rookie. That year, he ran for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, his numbers dropped after that as he had 1,003 yards in 2019 before suffering an ACL tear after recording just 34 yards on 19 rushes in 2020.
Barkley returned to the team in 2021 and didn’t look nearly as explosive. He averaged just 3.7 yards per attempt and his production as a receiver suffered as well, recording 263 yards on 41 receptions — with a career-low 6.4 yards per catch.
Heading into 2022, the Giants are hoping he bounces back but Barkley survived for so long on pure athleticism and speed that it’s hard to see him truly rebounding without getting all of that back to 100 percent.