It shouldn’t come as a shock that Saquon Barkley has given some thought to being selected by the Giants with the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft. And the former Penn State standout sees himself as a quality fit within the Giants’ offense.
“I think Eli Manning definitely has a lot in his tank left, and is an extraordinary player, and then Odell Beckham is the most exciting player in the NFL over the last three or four years, and obviously he’s coming off an injury,” Barkley said to Greg Pickel of Penn Live. “Then, you have a great wide receivers corps, Sterling Shepard and the tight ends and all those guys. I think I would have the success I had in college.”
Mock drafts have Barkley going as high as No. 1 to the Browns to as low as the bottom portion of the top 10 picks. Barkley didn’t seem too concerned about where exactly he ends up going in the upcoming draft.
“All those teams that are at the top of the draft, they’re very close, a couple of pieces away, and I just hope that whichever team drafts me, I can come in and be a spark,” Barkley said.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- The Saints have already indicated that they don’t plan to re-sign safety Kenny Vaccaro and Tyrann Mathieu told Joel A. Erickson of The Advocate (on Twitter) that the team never reached out to him prior to signing with the Texans. Mathieu is a New Orleans native and attended LSU, and also told Erickson he has a good relationship with Sean Payton.
- Mike Jurecki of Arizona Sports Station 98.7 FM believes that free-agent Robert McClain could be an option for the Cardinals at slot cornerback (on Twitter). McClain has experience playing under new Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks during two separate stints with the Panthers. Jurecki went on to say that the Cardinals are looking forward to working with third-year cornerback Brandon Williams and the team also plans to address the position in the draft.
- The Vikings were dealt a pair of losses to their offensive line this week, with Joe Berger‘s retirement and Jeremiah Sirles‘ departure to the Panthers in free agency. We saw Friday that Mike Remmers could move to right tackle, opening the door for the team to pick a guard in the upcoming draft. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin also points to recently-tendered Nick Easton as an option at guard, along with recently-signed Tom Compton. Cronin said that some guards to keep an eye on as the draft approaches include Will Hernandez(UTEP), Isaiah Wynn (Georgia) and Billy Price (Ohio State). The Vikings have the No. 30 overall pick in the draft.
- Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has heard from several agents that Aaron Rodgers‘ impending extension has led to caution from the Packers in free agency. Silverstein also goes over what a possible extension for Rodgers from the Packers could look like.