Two of the most controversial first-round picks in New York Giants history have come recently: running back Saquon Barkley (2nd overall, 2018) and quarterback Daniel Jones (6th overall, 2019.)
Now, just a few years removed from drafting them, the Giants are in full rebuild mode. As a result, they’re taking a hard look at everyone on the roster including those two and even last year’s first-round pick, Kadarius Toney.
Former Super Bowl MVP Ottis Anderson recently sat down with Giants Wire and talked about the futures of Barkley and Jones.
“I mean, [Saquon is] such a talent though,” said Anderson, who is a patient ambassador with Novo Nordisk and aims to help inspire people to be more proactive about their health. “I don’t think you give up on him right now. From what I can tell, he has a trust issue with his offensive line and based on what [the organization] has done for him, it’s understandable.
“They have not been good to him. He has done a lot of work the hard way without having a great offensive line. He’s gotten injured because of his work ethic and he’s trying to do more than what I always considered he’s capable of doing. They need to keep him; they need to surround themselves [with better talent].
Anderson feels similarly in regards to Jones.
“It’s the same thing with Daniel Jones,” Anderson said. “They’re trying to surround him with better talent. If you surround a kid of his talent with better talent then the team is going to have a much better running back — the kind of back we saw when he won rookie of the year his first year.
“It’s still in [Barkley], but a new staff and new coaches, maybe they can get that out of him — the trust that he didn’t have for his former offensive linemen and his former teammates. But every year, when you’re a young ball player and you’ve been injured, you’re always on the chopping block for a trade and it’s not a great feeling but at least you know somebody wants you. If they are trying to trade you that must mean somebody wants you or somebody thinks you are good enough to land somewhere else but they should keep him.”
Clearly, the former Super Bowl champion thinks the Giants need to improve the offensive line to get the most out of Jones and Barkley:
“Yeah, I hope that’s what they do in the draft. I hope they address that,” Anderson said.
“I think they are trending in the right direction but with Daniel. When you have Eli, Peyton and Archie — they watched this kid grow and mature when he was playing and they saw this talent and when he became available — they all had a hand in saying take this kid. The Manning boys, I don’t think they’ve been wrong too often in their careers about too many things. You look at their careers, they both are two-time Super Bowl champions. One is a two-time Super Bowl MVP and Archie had a great career himself. I think they have a head up on everybody when it comes to the quarterback and who is good and who isn’t good.
“Yeah, they need to stay with Daniel. I don’t think there is anything out there that is better. Who they going to go get Baker Mayfield? Bring Baker in there? We know better than that.”
As the Giants continue to evaluate talent, some stability in the coaching staff and some improved talent on the offensive line would go a long way toward finding out what the Giants truly have in Jones and Barkley.
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