New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has caught plenty of flak for some his questionable personnel decisions in recent years. Most notably, it was his decision to take running back Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Although Barkley has since done what he can to justify the pick, many felt the Giants could have gotten much more value out of a quarterback or pass-rusher that early in the draft. According to Jonathan Jones of SI.com, Gettleman is adamant about not letting the analytics get too involved:
“If that makes me a hater of analytics, because the analytic people say [you can plug and play whomever at running back], you can’t!,” Gettleman says. “If that’s the reasoning, that I’ve become a doddering old fool that hates analytics … that’s O.K.”
Gettleman added that the NFL has become too reliant on analytics these days.
You know why? Because they didn’t invent it. People have done this since the dawn of time, especially way back in the day when the first-round quarterback didn’t have to play right away.” He goes on to track Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen’s circuitous path to NFL starter.
“Media, and just in general, there are so many people who think sports started in 1979. Your generation of writers, if I said who are the 15 best players of all time, there wouldn’t be one player from before ’90.”
There is no question that the Giants had been in desperate need of a franchise quarterback at the time. Despite Barkley emerging into one of the best running backs in the league, it has done little to turn the fortunes of their organization around.
Regardless, Gettleman was able to address the question of quarterback succession by taking Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Of course, it remains to be seen how long the Giants plan on having him sit behind quarterback Eli Manning.
Gettleman will likely continue to receive the brunt of the criticism so long as the team continues to struggle.
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