4 biggest Giants threats for Saquon Barkley if he hits free agency

Since being selected No. 2 overall in 2018, Saquon Barkley has optimized what it means to be a New York Giant. Through the changes in management, offensive line, and quarterback, Barkley has been the heart and soul of New York Giants football. Just the idea of Saquon in another team's threads makes Giants fans' skin crawl.

Although beloved by the fans and his public address of wanting to stay a Giant, the end of the road might be in sight. With salary negotiations stalling last offseason and No. 26 again demanding premium dollars - his time with the Giants could be coming to a close. Such a great player will undoubtedly grab the attention of many teams in free agency. Here are four teams to keep an eye on as potential suitors for Barkley's services in 2024:

4. Houston Texans

In his rookie season, no one could have predicted just how good quarterback C.J. Stroud would be for the Houston Texans. With first-time head coach DeMeco Ryans and a roster lacking talent, many thought Stroud would face his fair share of struggles in Year 1. However, this thought could not have been further from the truth.

Simply put, Stroud was incredible right from the jump. Stroud put the team on his back and carried them to the playoffs and a Wild Card Round win against the Cleveland Browns. With a blossoming connection with receivers Nico Collins and Tank Dell, the Texans passing attack was among the league's best.

Stroud's rookie campaign is even more impressive due to Houston's lack of run game. Rather than taking the "second-year leap" as many hoped, Dameon Pierce seemed to take steps backward. Pierce doesn't fit into the Texans' new and improved outside zone scheme. While Devin Singletary took most of the workload down the stretch, it was clear that the run game was the Texans' Achilles heel.

With a drastic change from rebuild to contenders, the Texans will surely monitor Barkley's availability. Pro Football Focus listed the Texans as Barkley's ideal landing spot and even compared Barkley's pending free agency to LeSean McCoy in 2015.

"Houston got all it could out of free agent acquisition Devin Singletary, and it appears upshot 2022 rookie Dameon Pierce is not a great fit in the run scheme. Barkley can get to the edge well in outside zone and make defenders miss in space while also taking pressure off C.J. Stroud. The Texans should have had a much higher pass rate in 2023 and too often deployed a run-run-pass sequence, but Barkley is also an asset as a pass catcher and pass blocker."

- PFF