Bleacher Report gives harsh re-grade of disaster NY Giants 2018 draft
By Jerry Trotta
The NY Giants have been one of football’s laughingstocks for a full decade. While the organization has seemingly turned a corner under new general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, fans can’t help but reflect on the last 10 years and the decisions that fueled the extended run of losing.
Sure, the team was bound to fall off after it won two Super Bowls in five years, but eight losing seasons in 10 years is a run you’d associate with the Jaguars, Texans, Lions or Jets; not a flagship franchise like the Giants.
That’ll happen when you fail to build through the draft. In many ways, the 2018 showcase is the poster child for New York’s shortcomings. At the time, Eli Manning had one or two years maximum of starting years remaining. Equipped with the No. 2 overall pick, the Giants were in pole position to draft Manning’s successor and groom him under the two-time champ.
Of course, Dave Gettleman chose Saquon Barkley instead, and Bleacher Report recently gave a harsh re-grade of the 2018 draft class.
An NFC coach told @JFowlerESPN that Saquon Barkley doesn’t know how to play RB enough:
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) July 13, 2022
“He's a bouncer," the coach said. "He wants every run to be a home run. He's going to have to learn that four-yard runs in this league are good…”
What’re your thoughts?
Bleacher Report isn’t a fan of the NY Giants’ 2018 draft.
For anyone who needs a refresh, here’s the Giants 2018 class:
- 1st round – 2nd overall – Saquon Barkley (RB, Penn State)
- 2nd round – 34th overall – Will Hernandez (OG, UTEP)
- 3rd round – 66th overall – Lorenzo Carter (OLB, Georgia)
- 3rd round – 69th overall – B.J. Hill (DT, NC State)
- 4th round – 108th overall – Kyle Lauletta (QB, Richmond)
- 5th round – 139th overall – R.J. McIntosh (DT, Miami)
Bleacher Report writer Ian Wharton gave the Giants a C- letter grade. Here are snippets of his analysis of the underwhelming class.
"“The idea of taking the best available player sounds good until it leads to taking a running back No. 2 overall when the team needs a quarterback. Imagine where the New York Giants could be today had they drafted and developed either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson rather than Saquon Barkley.”“…The Giants whiffed on second-round guard Will Hernandez but were able to find role players in the third round. Pass-rusher Lorenzo Carter had 14.5 sacks during his four years with the Giants, although he never flourished into a reliable force. He signed with the Atlanta Falcons on a one-year deal, $3.5 million this offseason.”“B.J. Hill had a solid rookie year with 5.5 sacks, but the Giants traded him to Cincinnati for Billy Price last August. Price was unable to establish himself with the Giants, while Hill immediately remade his career with the Bengals.”"
Tough to argue with any of Wharton’s points here. While the Giants whiffed on Allen and Jackson in favor of Barkley, Pro Bowl talents Denzel Ward, Quenton Nelson, Bradley Chubb and Roquan Smith all went in the top 10.
Browns are signing Pro-Bowl CB Denzel Ward to a 5-year, $100.5 million contract extension that includes $71.25 million guaranteed, per source. At age 24, Ward is the highest-paid CB in NFL history.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 18, 2022
Tory Dandy of CAA Sports, who negotiated the contract, confirmed the deal to ESPN
It’s tough to kill the Giants for taking Barkley, but the Browns netted Nick Chubb, a top-three player at the position, one pick before Gettleman took Hernandez, who wasn’t re-signed this offseason, at pick No. 34 overall.
We could continue, but there’s no sense twisting the knife. At the end of the day, Barkley is the only player from the G-Men’s 2018 draft who’s still on the team and there’s an outside chance he’s offloaded by this year’s trade deadline.
Doesn’t get much worse than that.
