There have been a lot of draft busts in New York Giants history, so you'll have to excuse fans for having nearly unlimited responses to "Blank is the biggest draft bust in Giants history."
The old heads will reminisce about the Rocky Thompson days, while the millennial crowd will steer towards guys like Cedric Jones and Ron Dayne. However, it hasn't been until recently that the draft busts have been coming out of the woodwork and spreading like a weed.
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Go back 10 years, and you'll find a whole roster full of mishaps and what-could-have-beens. From Ereck Flowers to DeAndre Baker to Kadarius Toney to Evan Neal to Deonte Banks to John Michael Schmitz to Jailn Hyatt to Josh Ezeudu to Azeez Ojulari to Eli Apple, the list seemingly never ends, yet a new name has been added to the "Greatest draft bust in Giants history," and it's one that'll shock you.
Tommy Lugauer of WFAN sports radio didn't hold back, naming Saquon Barkley the biggest bust in the franchise's 101-year history:
"Saquon Barkley is the biggest draft mistake and bust in the history of the New York Giants."
Giants radio stirs controversy naming Saquon Barkley franchise’s worst draft pick ever
Lugauer went on to talk about why he feels this way, and his argument was twofold. Firstly, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson were drafted after him, and they could all be perceived as better players than the former Penn State running back -- they are all quarterbacks in a quarterback-driven league. Secondly, his best season came with the Philadelphia Eagles (not the G-Men), winning a Super Bowl in Kelly Green vs Giants Blue.
While I do see where he's coming from, I do find it hard for fans to agree with his analysis. To his first point, if someone is considered a bust because there were better players drafted after them, then literally every pick who wasn't the best in their class would be considered a bust. Additionally, among the three players he compared Barkley to, not one of them has a Super Bowl ring... so, if at the end of the day, winning is everything and we idolize championships, that argument is inherently flawed.
Secondly, long gone are the days when players get drafted by a team and stay there their entire careers. It just doesn't happen. Did we forget the infamous HBO Hard Knocks clip where general manager Joe Schoen came to terms with letting Barkley walk for nothing? Isn't that more organizational malpractice than anything else?
Big Blue Nation will also have a hard time with this take because in six years in a Giants uniform, the 2018 second-overall pick ran for 5,211 yards (fourth-highest mark in franchise history), 35 touchdowns (sixth-highest mark), and averaged 70.4 rushing yards per game (pole position). Those numbers are just for his time in North Jersey.
Biggest bust is a tough sell when you have contenders like Neal, Toney, Baker, and Banks in the pool.
Much like there have been a lot of draft busts throughout Big Blue's existence, there have also been a lot of firsts as well -- and this might be the first, and hopefully last, time anyone puts Barkley in the same breath as Rocky Thompson.