John Fennelly article attacking the drafting of Saquan Barkley by the NY Giants. Hard to believe he gets paid for writing crap like this!

[TheGLOV]

Saquon Barkley named Giants’ biggest draft mistake of past five years​

Thu, July 8, 2021, 9:55 AM


In this article:

New York Giant fans love Saquon Barkley. He’s exciting, charismatic and the perfect face of the franchise. But the truth of the matter is, Barkley shouldn’t be a Giant at all. That is, if management had any clue of what they were doing at the time.
The Giants made Barkley, a superstar, game-changing back at Penn State, the second overall election in the 2018 NFL Draft. He went on to amass over 2,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, was named to the Pro Bowl and beat out No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield of Cleveland for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

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2021 Giants training camp preview: Running backs​

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Since then however, Barkley has struggled to stay healthy. In 2019, a high ankle sprain caused him to miss several games and rendered him ineffective for more than half the season. Last year, he suffered a torn ACL in the second week of the season and underwent season-ending surgery.
Although Barkley is the cornerstone of the franchise and sells goodwill and jerseys, his presence has failed to move the needle for the Giants. They are still a losing team three years later. Chris Roling of Bleacher Report named the drafting of Barkley the Giants’ biggest mistake of the last five years.

Barkley is fun to watch and great at what he does; it just doesn’t move the needle all that much and the great injury risk to the position became a factor quickly. The team needed a different sort of impact for the rebuild with such a prized asset, whether it was a different prospect or trading it for multiple picks. Now, instead of contending, the Giants will stare a costly long-term extension for Barkley right in the face soon.

Very true. The Giants screwed up by falling in love with Barkley. General manager Dave Gettleman called him a “gold jacket” player and went against the grain by taking him so high in the draft. In this day and age running backs — no matter how talented — should never be taken with the second overall pick.
The Giants now know this but back then they did not. The second overall pick is normally reserved for either a quarterback, offensive tackle, pass rusher or trade bait. Instead, the Giants saddled themselves with a running back with a modern injury history (wasn’t an issue in college) and are still searching for player(s) at those other positions. They also will have to play Barkley premium moolah to keep him in the fold going forward.
Looking back on the 2018 NFL Draft, the Giants did not make the best use of the No. 2 overall pick. They could have made the colossal mistake of taking USC quarterback Sam Darnold, who went to the Jets at No. 3, or traded backs few spots and landed Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, a budding superstar who las led the Buffalo Bills back to prominence. They then could have taken Georgia running back Nick Chubb in the second round like Cleveland did.
Other players they could have selected by trading back are Quentin Nelson, Denzel Ward, Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Frank Ragnow, Trumaine Edmunds, Jaire Alexander, Derwin James and Darius Leonard — all Pro Bowlers.
Taking a quarterback such as Allen would have given them more flexibility in 2019. They would not have taken Daniel Jones at No. 6. They could have leveraged that pick into more capital and beefed up their roster and had Allen as their centerpiece.
But instead, they are tethered to Barkley, a player that needs to have a monster year in 2021 for the team to even consider extending him beyond his rookie contract. That won’t be easy, especially coming off a serious injury and the Giants having so many mouths to feed on offense now.
The Giants learned their lesson the hard way. This year, they were wheelers and dealers at the draft, trading back and still getting viable players while collecting future draft picks. Had they done that the past few years their rise back into the playoff picture would be over by now.

 

[Op2]

Barkley is a great RB but I question the wisdom of a team drafting an RB that high (assuming it's a really bad team rather than a good team that has traded for a high draft pick) because RB careers are relatively short. And it becomes especially impactful if the rebuilding project turns out to be longer than expected, as it has for the Giants.

For his sake, I hope Barkley has a big year and gets a big new contract, but if the Giants continue to be pretty bad after this year and their rebuild will be even longer, I don't think it will make sense for them to give him a bunch of money. It would be better if he went to a good team for which his talents would pay off in terms of immediate playoff wins.

 

[DrJC]

Die hard Giants fan and of course Barkley fan. I was happy to see him drafted by the Giants, but that was not what they needed. I was fearful that without an adequate line, he would soon get hurt. They still do not have the line that will let him show his great talents. Giants also passed on Parsons, letting him go to Cowboys. Another bad idea!

 

[Lion78]

I agree with the writer. Not a Gman fan, but they needed all sorts of pieces before drafting a RB. I'm still amazed at what Barkley did his rookie year behind an awful Oline. A once in a generation talent that the Gmen should have passed on.

 

[psuro]

There is no telling that if they had drafted Josh Allen, he would have turned out to be as good as he is now. After all, we are talking about the New York Football Giants.

 

[Obliviax]

There is no telling that if they had drafted Josh Allen, he would have turned out to be as good as he is now. After all, we are talking about the New York Football Giants.

Agreed. Allen needs an OL just as #26 does. It take 22. This isn’t basketball

 

[NittPicker]

I don't follow the Giants and have no opinion about past drafts. But isn't hindsight always 20/20?? This genius writer can look back to 2018 and say what the Giants should have done to solve today's problems. Well, duh!! Sports journalism is a great field. How much talent do you need to criticize what someone did three years ago?? Maybe this guy will write an article next spring and tell us who the Giants should draft with their first pick of 2022. In 2025 we can look back and see if it worked out.

 

[psykim]

Drafting is such an inexact science. Obviously we love what Barkley did at PSU; he was the most electric
runner of this generation and was so productive and stayed healthy at PSU. However, many draft analysts especially Mel Kiper Jr argue against drafting RBs high; this belief is not specific to Barkley but to other RBs as well. Sure some RBs (see Henry of Tennessee) are franchise backs but few are durable over long periods of time. In hindsight I would have drafted Josh Allen, but that is only based on what we see in Buffalo. The Giants sure have messed up lots of first round picks; offensive tackle drafted in first round recently is not nearly as good as Tampa Bays pick which was later than Giant's pick. Look at other first round misses in last 5-6 years and you see a reason Giants have not been good in years. We love Barkley, his attitude is great, he is a great citizen, he represents PSU exceptionally well, and we all hope he stays healthy and has a great year. The Giants have added good weapons at WR this offseason but how good OL is a question mark. All I remember last season is seeing Barkley tackled yards behind the scrimmage; no RB can be successful without a decent if not good OL.

 

[BobPSU92]

Barkley is turrible.

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

Let's be real, if he was an OSU grad, we'd agree with the article. RBs are disposable, always have been. QB, protect the QB, rush the QB, shut down corner. That's how you build a winner.

 

[Cletus11]

Put Barkely in the Ravens offense and they are unstoppable. Didn't matter who the Giants drafted they were a complete mess. You can argue Giants would have been better off trading down and accumulating picks to improve the overall roster. So you can argue the Giants should not have drafted Barkley but you cannot argue Barkley was a bust.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Let's be real, if he was an OSU grad, we'd agree with the article. RBs are disposable, always have been. QB, protect the QB, rush the QB, shut down corner. That's how you build a winner.

You sound like the great Al Davis (stupid NFL blocks a direct link - need to click on YouTube):

 

[TheGLOV]

Die hard Giants fan and of course Barkley fan. I was happy to see him drafted by the Giants, but that was not what they needed. I was fearful that without an adequate line, he would soon get hurt. They still do not have the line that will let him show his great talents. Giants also passed on Parsons, letting him go to Cowboys. Another bad idea!

Experts said same about Steelers drafting Harris this year.

He'll prove them all wrong just like Barkley.

 

[TheGLOV]

I agree with the writer. Not a Gman fan, but they needed all sorts of pieces before drafting a RB. I'm still amazed at what Barkley did his rookie year behind an awful Oline. A once in a generation talent that the Gmen should have passed on.

And IF they would have drafted Josh Allen, we would have heard: "Before they had drafted a QB, they should have drafted an OL to protect any QB they have back there!" Blah, blah, blah!

Barkley was a great pick!!

 

[TheGLOV]

Die hard Giants fan and of course Barkley fan. I was happy to see him drafted by the Giants, but that was not what they needed. I was fearful that without an adequate line, he would soon get hurt. They still do not have the line that will let him show his great talents. Giants also passed on Parsons, letting him go to Cowboys. Another bad idea!

Parson yes, Barkley no.

 

[psu00]

I’m sure Washington, Philly, and Pittsburgh would be happy to take Barkley off the Giants hands.

 

[Ranger Dan]

Saquon Barkley named Giants’ biggest draft mistake of past five years​

Thu, July 8, 2021, 9:55 AM


In this article:

New York Giant fans love Saquon Barkley. He’s exciting, charismatic and the perfect face of the franchise. But the truth of the matter is, Barkley shouldn’t be a Giant at all. That is, if management had any clue of what they were doing at the time.
The Giants made Barkley, a superstar, game-changing back at Penn State, the second overall election in the 2018 NFL Draft. He went on to amass over 2,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, was named to the Pro Bowl and beat out No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield of Cleveland for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

​

2021 Giants training camp preview: Running backs​

View 5 items

Since then however, Barkley has struggled to stay healthy. In 2019, a high ankle sprain caused him to miss several games and rendered him ineffective for more than half the season. Last year, he suffered a torn ACL in the second week of the season and underwent season-ending surgery.
Although Barkley is the cornerstone of the franchise and sells goodwill and jerseys, his presence has failed to move the needle for the Giants. They are still a losing team three years later. Chris Roling of Bleacher Report named the drafting of Barkley the Giants’ biggest mistake of the last five years.

Very true. The Giants screwed up by falling in love with Barkley. General manager Dave Gettleman called him a “gold jacket” player and went against the grain by taking him so high in the draft. In this day and age running backs — no matter how talented — should never be taken with the second overall pick.
The Giants now know this but back then they did not. The second overall pick is normally reserved for either a quarterback, offensive tackle, pass rusher or trade bait. Instead, the Giants saddled themselves with a running back with a modern injury history (wasn’t an issue in college) and are still searching for player(s) at those other positions. They also will have to play Barkley premium moolah to keep him in the fold going forward.
Looking back on the 2018 NFL Draft, the Giants did not make the best use of the No. 2 overall pick. They could have made the colossal mistake of taking USC quarterback Sam Darnold, who went to the Jets at No. 3, or traded backs few spots and landed Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, a budding superstar who las led the Buffalo Bills back to prominence. They then could have taken Georgia running back Nick Chubb in the second round like Cleveland did.
Other players they could have selected by trading back are Quentin Nelson, Denzel Ward, Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Frank Ragnow, Trumaine Edmunds, Jaire Alexander, Derwin James and Darius Leonard — all Pro Bowlers.
Taking a quarterback such as Allen would have given them more flexibility in 2019. They would not have taken Daniel Jones at No. 6. They could have leveraged that pick into more capital and beefed up their roster and had Allen as their centerpiece.
But instead, they are tethered to Barkley, a player that needs to have a monster year in 2021 for the team to even consider extending him beyond his rookie contract. That won’t be easy, especially coming off a serious injury and the Giants having so many mouths to feed on offense now.
The Giants learned their lesson the hard way. This year, they were wheelers and dealers at the draft, trading back and still getting viable players while collecting future draft picks. Had they done that the past few years their rise back into the playoff picture would be over by now.

It sucks to hear as a Penn State and Saquon fan, but it’s the truth.

 

[TheGLOV]

It sucks to hear as a Penn State and Saquon fan, but it’s the truth.

I politely disagree Dan.

Now, if the Giants DO make it as a playoff team this year - and on the back of Barkley's running, will the pick be hailed as a great pick?

Food for thought.

 

[CF LION]

Experts said same about Steelers drafting Harris this year.

He'll prove them all wrong just like Barkley.

Difference being 22 draft positions. Would the Steelers have taken Harris at no.2 overall?

 

[Ranger Dan]

It wasn’t a prudent decision. We all love SB because we are emotionally invested. The Giants gel in love with his image, personality, and high end potential. They should have drafted the highest LT on their board or a dynamic pass rusher. The performance between the number 2 overall running back and a second round running back isn’t much different. I hope SB leads his team to championships and himself to the HOF. It still was a dumb decision.

 

[TheGLOV]

It wasn’t a prudent decision. We all love SB because we are emotionally invested. The Giants gel in love with his image, personality, and high end potential. They should have drafted the highest LT on their board or a dynamic pass rusher. The performance between the number 2 overall running back and a second round running back isn’t much different. I hope SB leads his team to championships and himself to the HOF. It still was a dumb decision.

Booking passage on the Lusitania was a dumb decision particularly after the Germans took out newspaper adds warning people they were going to sink it!

This, IMO, was not a dumb decision.

Politely said sir.

 

[PSU_Chicago]

Gints may have been better off going for a different position with that pick otherwise everyone is a "hindsight" expert. Only concern with SB is the injuries. Great talent and a game changer.

 

[TheGLOV]

Nobody can guarantee success in the NFL.

Nobody.

Injuries' happen, it is a part of the game.

 

[dcf4psu]

There is no telling that if they had drafted Josh Allen, he would have turned out to be as good as he is now. After all, we are talking about the New York Football Giants.

As a long suffering Jets fan I'm not sure what you mean in regards to the 4 time Super Bowl champions, including besting New England twice.

 

[roswelllion]

ok so Barkley clearly IMO was a generational talent. He also had a knack for injury. My question is today if the Steelers and Giants were going to swap N Harris for SQ which side of that trade would you take.? To me if completely healthy the choice is easy, but.......

 

[DandyDonII]

This guy isn’t saying that Barkley isn’t talented. The whole point of this article is that drafting a RB at 2 is a horrible value, and he is right.
I love Barkley, but it is a hell of a lot easier to to find a damn good running back In Later rounds than it is a DE, OT or QB.

 

[TheGLOV]

This guy isn’t saying that Barkley isn’t talented. The whole point of this article is that drafting a RB at 2 is a horrible value, and he is right.
I love Barkley, but it is a hell of a lot easier to to find a damn good running back In Later rounds than it is a DE, OT or QB.

No, he is wrong.

 

[SLion]

It sucks to hear as a Penn State and Saquon fan, but it’s the truth.

Except it is not the truth. If you are going by performance (2021 draftees have not played), 2016-2020 draft then Eli Apple at 10 was far worse. A reach prospect who stunk it up, was often injured and had a bad attitude..so bad they traded him in 2018 after only two seasons for nothing (4th and 7th picks in 2019). Saquon was the best player availble by far. If he was a bad pick then it was because he was reckless with his body trying to get a win for a team with bad coaching, bad mgt, zero OL play and aging QB

 

[stf110]

Drafting a RB at #2 overall when you are there not due to trading but due to performance, and while possessing many other holes, is a horrible choice, even if the RB is the second coming of Jim Brown.

Most RBs don't make it to their 2nd contract with the team that drafted them, unless they are great and manage to avoid injury. When you use a top 10 pick on a RB then later go back to try to build around them. By time you are built they will be out of football, or with another team.

 

[dcf4psu]

I’m sure Washington, Philly, and Pittsburgh would be happy to take Barkley off he Giants hands.

For a lower round pick.

 

[bvillebaron]

It sucks to hear as a Penn State and Saquon fan, but it’s the truth.

Did Barkley draft the other players on the Giants roster? Did this guy diss the pick when it was made? Let’s see how this all plays out.

 

[bvillebaron]

For a lower round pick.

Well then I guess the Giants will be happy to keep him.

 

[NittPicker]

Did Barkley draft the other players on the Giants roster? Did this guy diss the pick when it was made? Let’s see how this all plays out.

Here's an article written in December 2019 by the same guy. He admits the draft class of 2018 killed it that first season. Did he write an article at that time claiming that draft was a mistake? If he did I'd love to see it. Now three years after the fact he knows what the solutions to the problems should have been. Real genius.

LINK

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

Put Barkely in the Ravens offense and they are unstoppable. Didn't matter who the Giants drafted they were a complete mess. You can argue Giants would have been better off trading down and accumulating picks to improve the overall roster. So you can argue the Giants should not have drafted Barkley but you cannot argue Barkley was a bust.

Barkley has a serious knee before his big second contract = bust. Yo

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

Experts said same about Steelers drafting Harris this year.

He'll prove them all wrong just like Barkley.

Who did Barkley prove wrong? Certainly not the Rick me

 

[Lion Son/Husband/Father]

Gints may have been better off going for a different position with that pick otherwise everyone is a "hindsight" expert. Only concern with SB is the injuries. Great talent and a game changer.

Dude, it has zero to do with hindsight. You build inside out, QB first.

 

[TheGLOV]

Dude, it has zero to do with hindsight. You build inside out, QB first.

Politely disagree lion.

 

[Ranger Dan]

Did Barkley draft the other players on the Giants roster? Did this guy diss the pick when it was made? Let’s see how this all plays out.

If I use my mortgage money to buy scratch off tickets, I might win money. It’s a horrible risk. That’s the point of saying the Barkley pick was bad. It’s not saying that Barkley isn’t a good RB. There are 5 elite QBs in the league, maybe 5 or 10 elite edge rushers, and somewhere around 10 elite LTs. There are 25 RBs that could make the pro bowl if they played for the right team.

 

[dcf4psu]

Well then I guess the Giants will be happy to keep him.

Frankly they have no choice, especially coming off the knee injury.

 

[BBrown]

Saquon Barkley named Giants’ biggest draft mistake of past five years​

Thu, July 8, 2021, 9:55 AM


In this article:

New York Giant fans love Saquon Barkley. He’s exciting, charismatic and the perfect face of the franchise. But the truth of the matter is, Barkley shouldn’t be a Giant at all. That is, if management had any clue of what they were doing at the time.
The Giants made Barkley, a superstar, game-changing back at Penn State, the second overall election in the 2018 NFL Draft. He went on to amass over 2,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, was named to the Pro Bowl and beat out No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield of Cleveland for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

​

2021 Giants training camp preview: Running backs​

View 5 items

Since then however, Barkley has struggled to stay healthy. In 2019, a high ankle sprain caused him to miss several games and rendered him ineffective for more than half the season. Last year, he suffered a torn ACL in the second week of the season and underwent season-ending surgery.
Although Barkley is the cornerstone of the franchise and sells goodwill and jerseys, his presence has failed to move the needle for the Giants. They are still a losing team three years later. Chris Roling of Bleacher Report named the drafting of Barkley the Giants’ biggest mistake of the last five years.

Very true. The Giants screwed up by falling in love with Barkley. General manager Dave Gettleman called him a “gold jacket” player and went against the grain by taking him so high in the draft. In this day and age running backs — no matter how talented — should never be taken with the second overall pick.
The Giants now know this but back then they did not. The second overall pick is normally reserved for either a quarterback, offensive tackle, pass rusher or trade bait. Instead, the Giants saddled themselves with a running back with a modern injury history (wasn’t an issue in college) and are still searching for player(s) at those other positions. They also will have to play Barkley premium moolah to keep him in the fold going forward.
Looking back on the 2018 NFL Draft, the Giants did not make the best use of the No. 2 overall pick. They could have made the colossal mistake of taking USC quarterback Sam Darnold, who went to the Jets at No. 3, or traded backs few spots and landed Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, a budding superstar who las led the Buffalo Bills back to prominence. They then could have taken Georgia running back Nick Chubb in the second round like Cleveland did.
Other players they could have selected by trading back are Quentin Nelson, Denzel Ward, Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Frank Ragnow, Trumaine Edmunds, Jaire Alexander, Derwin James and Darius Leonard — all Pro Bowlers.
Taking a quarterback such as Allen would have given them more flexibility in 2019. They would not have taken Daniel Jones at No. 6. They could have leveraged that pick into more capital and beefed up their roster and had Allen as their centerpiece.
But instead, they are tethered to Barkley, a player that needs to have a monster year in 2021 for the team to even consider extending him beyond his rookie contract. That won’t be easy, especially coming off a serious injury and the Giants having so many mouths to feed on offense now.
The Giants learned their lesson the hard way. This year, they were wheelers and dealers at the draft, trading back and still getting viable players while collecting future draft picks. Had they done that the past few years their rise back into the playoff picture would be over by now.