You ask, we answer. The Post is fielding questions from readers about New York’s biggest pro sports teams and getting our beat writers to answer them in a series of regularly published mailbags. In today’s installment: the Giants.
Is Saquon a Giant for the 2022-23 season and beyond? — Cardinal Ximinez
Saquon Barkley is signed through the 2021 season and the Giants can pick up his fifth-year option, meaning he would be secured through the 2022 season. After that, they can put the franchise tag on him in 2023 (and again in 2024) if they choose to go that route.
So, Barkley cannot hit the open market for quite some time. If he is not on the team in 2022, someone has a great deal of explaining to do. The Giants did not take him with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft to have him play five years then leave. I think he signs a second contract with the Giants, but this upcoming season will go a long way in deciding for how much.
Does the tandem of Jabrill Peppers and Xavier McKinney finally solidify the back end of the defense? — Thomas Amato
Short answer: Yes. Slightly longer answer: Yes, it should. Peppers was a first-round draft pick of the Browns and McKinney was a second-round pick of the Giants. That’s plenty of pedigree for a pair of safeties. This has the potential to be a dynamic tandem. The challenge for new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is to devise a scheme in which Peppers can excel lining up in several different spots. This is where McKinney comes in. He did not run well at the scouting combine, and that might have dropped him out of the first round. His sideline-to-sideline movement should be fine, though. He is a true free safety, and the Giants expect him to be a quick study. McKinney’s range and Peppers’ hitting ability should work nicely in concert.
Submit your Giants questions here to be answered in an upcoming Post mailbag
Will the Giants this season try to get Saquon Barkley the ball more often on short passes … where he can work his wonders? — Jack Schwartz
Well, Jack, it seems you might be onto something here. The Giants called Barkley a “generational’’ talent when they drafted him and described him more as a complete offensive weapon than merely an NFL running back. Much of that hype centered on his ability to catch the ball, either out of the backfield or by breaking free running routes a wide receiver might run. He caught 91 passes as a rookie but dropped to just 52 last season, missing three full games with a high ankle sprain. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett must make Barkley a multi-dimensional threat. He has 11 receptions of 20 or more yards in his two-year career, and four receptions of 40 or more yards. He can do even more.
What’s going on with Markus Golden? Is he going to be a Giant or not? — Leroy F. Aiken
We’ve been through this a few times. The Giants used the rare unrestricted free-agent tender on Golden, meaning he gets $4.1 million from the Giants for the 2020 season unless another team signs him before the start of training camp at the end of July. Time is ticking away, and it is unlikely Golden will find another taker. New head coach Joe Judge said he is eager to work with Golden, setting an expectation that he will be on the roster. This would be a big plus, as it was assumed when free agency hit that Golden, after putting up 10 sacks in 2019, would be gone. The market did not develop the way he expected, and soon enough we will all know if he is indeed back with the Giants.