Whether you wanted the Giants to take a quarterback, cornerback or running back with their first pick in the 2018 draft, you have to be impressed with whom they picked.
On or off the field, Saquon Barkley was a model player and person. At times he seemed less athletic than bionic. He didn't ride the spiritual roller coaster of a first-year player, didn't hit the rookie wall. Barkley also seemed allergic to trash talk or selfish rhetoric and entered the league with a veteran's team-first impulses that were well beyond his years.
Then he won NFL Rookie of the Year. Barkley became the third rookie running back in NFL history to record over 2,000 total yards (joining Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James). He broke Dickerson's record for most 100-yard games from scrimmage as a rookie, with 13, and his 91 receptions were also the most ever for a rookie running back. He also joined Randy Moss as the only rookies to score five touchdowns of at least 50 yards. To give that stat some context, the Giants had just three rushing TDs of 50 yards or more over the prior ten seasons.
If any stat explains how explosive Barkley has become, consider he had eight plays of at least 40 yards after 331 touches. Ezekiel Elliott has six such plays after 978 touches. And if you're worried that his size or bulging thighs somehow slow him down, Barkley also scored the fastest TD in 2018. In Week 14, Barkley dashed 78 yards for a TD against the Washington Redskins, gaining a top speed of 21.91 miles per hour, the top speed reached by any player on a rushing TD in 2018, according to NFL Next Generation Stats.
Yet Big Blue still went 5-11 last year.
So there are two questions to be asked. First, is it fair to expect Barkley to once again shoulder the entire load on offense? Despite his dominance, Barkley is human -- so we hear, anyway -- and has played more 12-game seasons than the 16 in the sprawling NFL schedule. Teams will have some tape on the young man and will design defenses more tailored to stop him, especially if Eli Manning and his decaying arm will be under center all season. Last year the Giants did little else but hand the ball to Barkley and cheer, or toss it to him in the flat, and cheer.
Barkley is so gifted, he gives the woeful Giants the patina of success. Which brings us to the second question: do you even want Big Blue's offense to be so Barkley-centric? Gone are the days of the Chuck Knox, John Robinson, and Bill Parcells motif of three yards, a cloud of dust, and robust defense. With all of Barkley's athletic splendor, the Giants didn't sniff the playoffs.
Not that Barkley would complain if his workload diminished. What makes the all-world running back so marvelous is his modesty and we-first work ethic. Plenty of players have talent, but few avoid the trappings of instant fame -- in America's media capital, no less. For those of us who winced when the Giants passed passers Sam Darnold and Josh Allen -- yours truly even argued for linebacker Roquan Smith, who will have his mail forwarded to the Pro Bowl -- Barkley looks very much at home and at peace with the Giants.
You can argue Barkley will be even better in 2019, that after taking the pounding and learning the lessons of pro football, Barkley should have a keener awareness for the offense, and opposing defenses. It's great for the player and his fans. But it's not going to make the Giants better unless they can find a way to throw the football. The four teams in the conference title games -- Chiefs, Rams, Patriots, and Saints -- were all in the top eight in total yards. (The Chiefs, Rams, and Pats were in the top-five.) The Giants ranked 17th. The Chiefs, Rams, Saints, and Patriots (in that order) were also the top-four scoring teams in the league. The Giants ranked 16th.
Sure, the best four teams in the NFL also had rugged rushing attacks, but they also have two surefire Hall of Fame quarterbacks (Tom Brady and Drew Brees), the best young QB in the world (Patrick Mahomes), and a QB who just played in the Super Bowl (Jared Goff). The Giants are desperately chasing Eli's replacement. No matter how great Saquon Barkley plays, he doesn't touch the ball every play, and doesn't cast the wide net of influence that his QB does.
Saquon Barkley will be great this year, as he was last year, but for the Giants to turn 5-11 to 11-5, they need more than his marvelous skill. He can set more records, but can't change the Giants' record until he has some help.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel.
