Leading up to training camp, and then Week 1 of the regular season for the NY Giants, fans are going to keep wondering what in the world is going to happen with running back Saquon Barkley. The fifth-year speedster is looking to have a big 2022, but rumors have people wondering if he’ll be taking the field with the G-Men or not.
This month alone, Barkley has been mentioned with possible moves to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs. While on one side of things it would make sense for the Giants to get a handsome return if this does prove to be his last year in East Rutherford, there are several reasons why trading Barkley this summer would be a big mistake. Here’s three reasons why.
3. The NY Giants would be punting on 2022 if they trade Barkley
There’s no denying that general manager Joe Schoen would essentially pack things in for this upcoming season if he were to trade Barkley. With new offensive coordinator Mike Kafka now in town, everyone is assuming that Barkley is going to be heavily featured in the game plan, with the aerial attack being an area where he can really flourish.
Without Barkley on the field for the Giants, it completely changes things for the unit as a whole. Think about what it will do for Daniel Jones. The fourth-year QB, who didn’t have his fifth-year option picked up, will be relying on Barkley to ball out this fall and winter to help him out. Jones needs Barkley to have a big year if he wants to return to the Giants next season.
While Bleacher Report’s Ian Wharton pitched Clyde-Edwards Helaire going to the Giants as part of the package for Barkley, CEH himself has dealt with plenty of injuries in his young career. Barkley is on a different level than him too. From our chair, there’s just no reason for Barkley to go anywhere. It would stun the fanbase, and not in a good way.
2. Revamped offensive line will be huge for Saquon Barkley
It goes without saying, but all of the changes made for the offensive line will be crucial for this team not only in 2022, but for years to come as well. New York’s O-Line was a downright disgrace last fall, as the guys did a terrible job of protecting Jones and opening up any kind of nice holes for the running backs, including Barkley.
Things have changed, however, as Schoen went out and signed Jon Feliciano and Mark Glowinski. On top of that, people remain ecstatic about the potential of No. 7 overall pick Evan Neal. The former Alabama standout will be the starting right tackle this year, meaning he and Andrew Thomas (left tackle) will be covering the edges for Jones.
That’s quite the duo right there. With Thomas, he underwent ankle surgery in the winter, but he’s been looking sharp in his offseason workouts. While he wasn’t able to be a full go for minicamp, Thomas was recently spotted working out in Georgia and the big-bodied hoss is looking like he’s almost close to full speed. That’s big for Daboll.
With that improved offensive line getting ready to take the field, this is obviously going to be massive for Barkley. It will give him the chance to remind people of how good he can be. It feels like a decade ago that Barkley took the NFL by storm during his rookie season in 2018, which ended with a trip to the Pro Bowl. Can that same kind of player return in the coming months?
1. Saquon Barkley has his confidence back with the NY Giants
One of the main takeaways from minicamp no question had to be that Barkley appeared to get his swagger back. He lost it after tearing his ACL, and then looking like he lost a step during the 2021 season. Everyone had high hopes for Barkley entering last fall, but he ended up rushing for 592 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games. No one saw that coming.
The ankle issues also were rough to see. Now, though, Barkley is moving fluidly and his mind appears to be in the right place. This is going to make a massive impact for him from start to finish in 2022. After going 4-13 last year, not many people are giving the Giants a chance of making the playoffs. If they do, however, Barkley will surely prove to be one of the main reasons why.
"“The biggest difference would just be you had to go through a little bit the past couple years, so it just helped mold me, shape me to be the player I am right now and just coming into this camp, focusing on my body, working on my body, doing all the little things necessary to keep my body healthy,” Barkley said during minicamp. “When you’ve got that, when you can trust your body – your confidence just grows. So, I would say the difference was I was a way more confident player in college and early in my career than I was prior to the last year and then last year. Now I’m starting to get that back, starting to get that swagger back.”"
That quote above alone tells you how great Barkley is feeling. Will it lead to him showcasing the kind of first-round talent that made the Giants use a No. 2 overall pick on him? That’s what everyone will be waiting to see. Barkley looks ripe for a big year and Schoen needs to avoid making any rash, rushed decisions. He simply can’t trade him.