The bar a QB must clear for Giants not to take Saquon Barkley
You cannot grade on a curve when it comes to selecting a quarterback in the NFL draft. If the Giants are to take one with the No. 2 pick Thursday night, they would have to do just that — lower their standards just enough to restock the most important position on the field.
The question may come down to this: Forget about potential greatness. Is there the next Jared Goff out there and, if so, is that a high enough ceiling for Eli Manning’s successor?
There is strong sentiment inside the organization to sit at No. 2 and, if the Browns take Sam Darnold — that remains the most likely scenario — gleefully take running back Saquon Barkley, who instantly upgrades everything — and we mean everything — with the entire offensive operation.
“Freak’’ said someone with knowledge of the Giants’ draft thinking, referring to Barkley.
Putting the Barkley infatuation to the side, what to do about a quarterback is a hot-button issue the Giants cannot ignore. They likely will not take one up so high in this draft, but that does not mean they aren’t thinking about it.
The Giants look at this year’s top prospects — and do not be so sure they view Darnold as the best of the bunch — and do not see the caliber of quarterback that came out of the 2004 draft that produced Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers. They are looking into the more recent past to determine if this crop, or at least one of them, can measure up to the quarterbacks who came off the board 1-2 in 2016: Goff and Carson Wentz.
The baseline is this, as far as the Giants are concerned: Can they envision any one of these players being a really good starting quarterback for 15 years? If that sounds like grading on a curve, so be it.
Gettleman has attached two prerequisites to the No. 2 pick: He must be a player he can envision one day getting inducted to the Hall of Fame and he must be deemed worthy of the second overall pick not only this year, but in any year. It is difficult to consider any of these quarterbacks as worthy of the No. 2 pick in ANY draft — an admission some inside the Giants’ building grudgingly admit.
Given how polarizing this is — take a gamble on a quarterback or go for the sure thing in Barkley, defensive end Bradley Chubb or, more likely a few picks later if there is a trade down, guard Quenton Nelson — it should not be surprising that these conversations are going on in the Giants’ inner sanctum. This could lead to a divide — those who think quarterback is the way to go and those who do not.
Ownership could push for the immediate impact player (Barkley, Chubb, Nelson) as part of a win-now thrust with the 37-year-old Manning. Lest we forget, co-owner John Mara was quick to reverse himself late last season, completely disavowing the “We need to see Davis Webb play’’ rhetoric when the Manning benching went sour. Mara and Steve Tisch, more than the front office, might factor into the awkwardness of having Manning sharing a locker room with his anointed successor. Webb’s presence is a factor here but not a determining factor.
There are likely Giants draft evaluators who think the time is now to get the next franchise quarterback, even if it means going against a draft board that will not have any of the quarterbacks as the three highest-rated players.
Darnold is the safest choice among the quarterbacks. Josh Allen, sitting behind Manning for a couple of years to refine his immense physical gifts, is the most intriguing. Josh Rosen is the most polished thrower, but the question the Giants are mulling is this: Are they comfortable with Josh Rosen as the face of their franchise for a decade? There are also durability concerns with Rosen after surgery on his right shoulder and, more ominously, two concussions this past season. Someone familiar with the Giants thinking said he would be “shocked’’ if Rosen lasted a full 16-game NFL season.
Wentz was playing at an MVP level last season for the Eagles before he blew out his knee. That upside, in the view of some making the call for the Giants, is most likely unattainable for any of this year’s quarterback prospects. But what about Goff? He struggled as a rookie with the Rams, welcomed in a new offense and new coaching staff and showed great progress in Year No. 2.
Will Goff live up to the test of time as worth the No. 1 pick? Is “very good’’ good enough? Can Goff win a couple of Super Bowls the way Manning did? Can any of these soon-to-be rookie quarterbacks do the same?
The Giants have questions about all these incoming quarterbacks. They have no question about Saquon Barkley. If he is there, he remains their strongest option. But not their only option.