On Thursday, the New York Giants played their season opener against the Cleveland Browns with two highly anticipated debuts taking place. The No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Baker Mayfield, saw considerable time under center for the Browns while the player selected right after him, running back Saquon Barkley, also had his fair share of the spotlight.
Both players put on a show in their debuts with Mayfield showing some incredible poise for Cleveland and Barkley exploding out of the backfield in his first carry as a Giant. The Penn State product ran for 39 yards when he was handed the football for the first time by Eli Manning, but the longtime Giants quarterback wasn't all that impressed, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.
Article Continues Below“It’s just a run,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning said, via quotes distributed by the team. “Let’s not go berserk yet. It was a good run. The offensive line blocked things well. He had a good cutback. It was a good play.”
The 39-yard run turned out to be Barkley's biggest by far in his preseason debut. The rookie only carried the ball three other times before watching some from the sidelines the rest of the game. He finished with 43 yards and four carries.
The Giants went on to lose to Mayfield's Browns, 20-10. The former Oklahoma star finished had quite the debut as he finished with 212 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Mayfield also rushed for 13 yards while displaying some impressive scrambling skills when plays broke down.
The two top rookies in this draft class have already become must-see TV in the NFL as they gear up for three more preseason games before embarking on the regular season on Sept. 9. This preseason could be the limited time Mayfield is seen on the gridiron with Tyrod Taylor set to start for the Browns while Barkley is expected to have a major workload for the Giants right out of the gate in his rookie campaign.