There is a puzzling narrative regarding the Giants and their pursuit — and where that effort should take them financially — of Saquon Barkley.
There is no question he is their best player on the offensive side of the ball. There is no question he is the first player opposing defensive coordinators pinpoint as having to contain in formulating a plan of attack. Yes, the dual threat of Daniel Jones — as a passer or a runner — became a growing concern for opponents this past season, but the Giants were not proficient enough in their passing game to keep anyone up at night worrying about getting shredded through the air.
There is really no denying Barkley’s talent and place among the NFL’s top running backs. Can any other Giants player on offense make that claim at his position? Yet there are fans who cannot get past where Barkley was taken in the 2018 NFL Draft — second overall — and seem to think because of that, there is nothing he can do on the field to justify going so high and little he can do to warrant a market-rate contract.
As a free agent, Barkley deserves to be paid, based on what he accomplished during the 2022 season. He did not miss a game because of injury. He finished fourth in the league in rushing with 1,312 yards. He finished seventh in the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,650. And he was held out of the regular-season finale, so there was no padding of his stats.
