If you ever watched Saquon Barkley play during his time at Penn State, then you already know that he is an incredible athlete. He’s been showing off that athletic ability at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis the last few days. Among his many impressive performances at the Combine was his vertical jump—an incredible 41 inches!
😱😱😱@saquonb21 with the 41" vertical jump! @PennStateFball #NFLCombine https://t.co/OlpmMGYSV7
— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2018
But he was far from a one-trick pony. Barkley completed 29 repetitions of 225 lbs. for the bench press test. He timed out at the 10-yard split, a quickness drill, at 1.54 seconds. In the one test everyone loves to see running backs do, the 40-yard dash, he recorded a blazing 4.4 seconds.
If his play at Penn State wasn’t enough to make teams drool, his combine numbers certainly will.
The general assumption by draft experts has been that the Cleveland Browns were going to take Barkley with the No. 4 pick. Both the New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts who have the No. 2 and 3 picks, respectively, are expected to go after a quarterback and pass rusher. But both could really use a running back as well.
At least one expert, NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, thinks the Giants should give some serious consideration to taking Barkley (NFL):
“If we're not banging the table (for a QB at No. 2), it's probably got to be (Saquon) Barkley,” Mayock said at a press conference following Saturday's NFL Scouting Combine workouts.
Of course, with Cleveland being non-committal when it comes to the quarterbacks, they could take Saquon Barkley first to make sure they get him. That means they’ll have to settle for whichever quarterback remains. But if they don’t love one over the rest that may be the smart move.
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