Saquon Barkley was overworked during his debut NFL season.
The New York Giants running back finished second in the NFL behind Ezekiel Elliott with 261 carries, and second among running backs in receptions behind Christian McCaffrey with 91 catches.
The result was an eye-popping, award-winning rookie season, one so productive and promising so much potential that few could have seen it coming despite Barkley's standing as the consensus top prospect in the 2018 NFL draft.
One problem: The Giants went just 5-11 last season, and didn't show enough room for improvement for Barkley to feel good about his team's long-term standing going forward.
In response, general manager Dave Gettleman and company have overhauled New York's roster, trading superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. and star pass-rusher Olivier Vernon and on Thursday signing pass-rusher Markus Golden and wide receiver Golden State.
Still, a vocal horde of NFL followers have criticized the Giants nonetheless, and an especially loudmouth voice has joined that chorus.
FOX Sports' Shannon Sharpe decried New York's overall offseason strategy on Thursday's episode of “Undefeated,” taking particular umbrage at the prospect of Barkley getting too many touches again next season.
"Why is Eli still on the team if you have a long-term plan? You don't re-sign Landon Collins … you trade Olivier Vernon … and you trade OBJ. If I'm Saquon, I'm saying, 'I want to redo my deal because you're about to give me 217,000 carries.'" — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/30zzKxvN2z
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) March 14, 2019
Fair points.
The Giants, of course, still have the opportunity to select Eli Manning's replacement in the top-10 of the NFL draft. They've been frequently linked to Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, and would undoubtedly be interested in Oklahoma dual-threat signal-caller Kyler Murray should he go lower than some anticipate on draft night.
Would either move fix what ails New York? Not by itself, and especially with Manning still on the roster.
Barkley will eventually need some help, though, and it's incumbent on the Giants to find it for him sooner rather than later.
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