Saquon Barkley: People Who Say Giants Should Have Drafted QB Aren't Wrong

Even though Saquon Barkley put himself in the mix for the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award with his strong performance this season, the New York Giants have been second-guessed for their decision to take a running back over a quarterback with the second overall pick in last year's draft.

Well, the running back is willing to let people have their own opinions.

"I know everyone is saying a quarterback should have been taken before me," Barkley said on the Rapsheet & Friends podcast (h/t the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta). "And you know, they're not wrong. That's their opinion. They can have their opinion. But some people believe I should have been taken at that pick. And they're not wrong, either. They can have that opinion."

Barkley continued, h/t Mehta:

"But at the end of the day ... I got to go out there and try to have success the (best) way that I can ... not to prove anybody else right or wrong.

"When it came to (whether) the Giants made the right pick in picking me ... it wasn't to prove (anything) to the fans. I'm so thankful that they voted me (Pepsi Rookie of the Year). It was to prove to myself. It's to prove to the Giants ... the things that matter within the locker room."

The former Penn State star was viewed as one of the best running back prospects in recent years and did little dispel that notion when he took the field. The rookie ranked second only to two-time Pro Bowler Ezekiel Elliott in rushing yards (1,307 yards), and he proved he can be a difference-maker in the passing game as well with 91 receptions for 721 yards. Not only that, but he found the end zone a total of 15 times.

But as good as Barkley was, New York could only manage five wins while missing out on the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Meanwhile, quarterback Eli Manning turned 38 years old last month.

When the Giants went on the clock last April, they essentially had their pick of players. The then-reigning Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield was taken No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Browns, but there were still other intriguing quarterback prospects on the board for New York, including Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson.

The team instead opted to try to add a dynamic playmaker to try to help whoever is under center.

New York now owns the sixth overall pick in this year's draft, putting it in position to potentially draft Manning's successor. Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins is among the top prospects in the 2019 draft class.