2018 NFL Draft: Reacting to New York Giants selecting Saquon Barkley

The New York Giants selected Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. What does that mean for Big Blue moving forward?

The New York Giants just drafted the most talented player in the NFL Draft in Saquon Barkley. Do you need to hear anything else?

Most of us saw this pick coming. Dave Gettleman gave us plenty of signs that pointed towards drafting Barkley. We just tried to find reasons that they would do something else. Eli Manning is old – draft a quarterback! We traded Jason Pierre-Paul – draft Bradley Chubb! Davis Webb is the future – trade back! All along, however, Barkley was the best all-around prospect and he’s now a New York Football Giant!

There are still a few questions to answer, however.

What does this mean for Big Blue moving forward?

Well, it appears that Gettleman and company are planning on competing immediately and trying to win a Super Bowl with Manning as their quarterback.

Drafting a quarterback or trading back to add multiple youngsters would have signaled moving towards a rebuild. Barkley, however, means it’s time to win. Having Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram lining up together is scary for opposing defenses.

Why not a quarterback?

Critics may say that Manning is over the hill and the Giants just wasted a prime opportunity to draft his successor. Want to know what will help extend Manning’s career? Being able to hand the ball off to Barkley 20-25 times per game and let him run free.

We as fans also don’t know as much about Davis Webb as the Giants coaching staff and front office do. He’s never taken a regular-season NFL snap, but Pat Shurmur has watched his college and practice tape and likes what he’s seen. The plan would have always been to have Manning start in 2018, so Big Blue can always reevaluate the quarterback position next offseason.

How will Saquon Barkley run behind this offensive line?

Yes, the New York Giants have to improve their offensive line, but the positional value was not there at No. 2 overall. Quenton Nelson is a stud, but the second overall pick is not the place to draft a guard. It’s also not like Gettleman has ignored the offensive line. He made Nate Solder the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman!

Big Blue also still has five selections in this draft. Will Hernandez, Billy Price, Connor Williams, and Isaiah Wynn have chances to be available in the second round.

Wouldn’t it have made sense to trade back?

That’s easy to say from the outside, but we don’t know what kind of trade offers Gettleman received. The Buffalo Bills were unwilling to give up both of their first-round picks, as evidenced by their trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Denver Broncos had the option to draft Josh Allen or Josh Rosen at No. 5 and went with Bradley Chubb, so they clearly wouldn’t have offered up a big package to get to No. 2. Trading back too far also would have caused them to miss out on the elite talent of this year’s NFL Draft.

What grade should the New York Giants receive?

I’m giving the New York Giants an A-. Saquon Barkley is the undisputed best player in the 2018 NFL Draft and an all-around stud on and off the field. He will be the face of the franchise and take Big Blue’s offense to the next level.

Next: New York Giants: 5 biggest draft needs and prospects to watch

The only reason this isn’t an A+ is that the positional value isn’t great with a running back at No. 2. I also wish they could have traded back with the New York Jets, picked up an extra mid-round pick, and still taken Barkley at No. 3.

Overall, this is a great pick for Gettleman and company and the New York Giants should be considered winners so far.

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2018 NFL Draft: Reacting to the New York Giants selecting Saquon Barkley

By Sean Dyer | Apr 26, 2018