Review of Saquon Barkley Pick

​Saquon Barkley is likely going to be one of the top running backs in the NFL. He is the most dynamic player the Giants have had (along with Odell Beckham) in a very long time.  I will root hard for him and possibly adopt him as my favorite player.  I’m going out to buy #26 Jerseys for me and my son (and any of my daughters willing to fake an interest).
 
BUT HE WAS THE WRONG PICK.
 
He will get approximately $32m over 4 years.  That puts him on par with the highest paid running backs in the NFL with a multi-year contract and a bit below what Le’veon Bell will ultimately get when he gets a multi-year deal (I’ll estimate about $10-11m per year).  If he is the second coming of Le’veon Bell, and that would be above his expected value, the Giants gained $3m a year of value from the pick.  When they move on from Manning, assuming they don’t discover that Davis Webb is something he likely is not, they will need to spend $20-30m to get a quarterback.  Even Blake Bortles is getting $18m. If Darnold was only Bortles the Giants would save $10m per year. 
 
If the Giants were really not in love with any of the quarterbacks at the top of the draft, and none are can’t miss, then they needed to trade down.
 
Turning down an offer from the Broncos to move down to #5, is the very definition of taking instant gratification over what’s better in the long term.
 
In round 2, expect the Giants to either build the offensive line with Connor Williams or Will Hernandez, or replace DRC with a Josh Jackson or Donte Jackson.  I think they would love to move on from Flowers but Hernandez really is a guard. Tis a real shame they didn’t keep Pugh over Andrew Norwell as that would have provided the flexibility to play him at guard or tackle and then draft the better lineman -whether it was a guard or tackle.
 
 -Ari Glass