The New York Giants made it clear that they believe Saquon Barkley can be a huge part of their franchise going forward when they spent the second overall pick in the draft on him last year, but some fans would have liked to see the team use the pick on Eli Manning’s eventual successor. Barkley thinks the Giants chose wisely, and he has a pretty good reason to back that up.
A reporter asked Barkley on Thursday if he gets why people say New York should have drafted a quarterback at No. 2. The former Penn State star had a great response.
????@saquon was asked if he understands people who still wish #NYG had taken QB last year. Yes, he said, but “If a Rookie of the Year doesn’t sway that mindset, I don’t know what will.”
— Kimberly Jones (@KimJonesSports) April 18, 2019
Barkley had more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scored 14 touchdowns last season, so it’s hard to criticize the Giants for the pick. They did, however, win just five games. The argument against taking Barkley at No. 2 would be more about the importance of the running back position versus the quarterback position, not how good of a player Barkley is.
The Giants obviously need to find their next quarterback sooner rather than later, and all signs point to them trying to do that in this year’s draft. Perhaps they simply didn’t like the class of QBs enough to use a high pick on the position last year.
