Former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley has been taken with the second overall pick by the New York Giants in the 2018 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Despite all of the QBs available to possibly replace Eli Manning, the Giants go with Barkley to become their dynamic back in an offense that struggled to pound the rock in 2017.
The 21-year-old back has been compared to Ezekiel Elliott and Le'Veon Bell due to his combination of size, speed, and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. The value of running backs in the NFL has declined over the last 2o years, but special runners like Barkley still land in the top 10 quite often (Elliott, Todd Gurley, to name a couple).
At the NFL Combine, he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash, made 29 bench reps, and recorded a 41-inch vertical jump. His relentless work in the weight room impressed a number of teams with top draft picks.
In his three seasons with Penn State, Barkley managed to rack up an incredible 5,038 yards (school record) from scrimmage with 53 total touchdowns (also a school record). His elite breakaway speed allowed him to be a serious threat in the return game, but he still had success between the tackles pounding the rock, averaging 5.7 yards per rushing attempt.
Over his last two seasons, Barkley had nine games with 200+ all-purpose yards (four in 2016, five last year). He set another school record by scoring touchdowns in 15 consecutive games.
The 2017 All-American won the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 and '17 in addition to First-Team All-Big Ten nods. He was also named a Freshman All-American in 2015.
Follow Us
Subscribe