The New York Giants added a top talent in the 2018 NFL Draft by selecting Saquon Barkley.
GM Dave Gettleman raved about the running back and there was no denying his talent.
The problem, however, was how early Barkley was taken.
In a draft all about quarterbacks, the Giants selected Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick.
Gettleman immediately made a bold decision and so far the selection has not led to much success on the field.
This bold pick may be the driving force behind the team firing Gettleman soon.
The #Giants are 0-3 despite having more draft capital than any team BY FAR over the last four years AND an owner who let his GM dip deep into future cap and spend more than all but 3 teams this year.
I hope this finally ends the defending Dave Gettleman BS from this fanbase.— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) September 26, 2021
The Franchise Needed A Reset
The Giants went 3-13 in 2017 and decided to stick with Eli Manning as the starting quarterback in 2018.
While they could have found his successor with that No. 2 pick, selecting Barkley was essentially doubling down in saying they were still trying to win another title with Manning.
The final result was a 5-11 finish in 2018, even though Barkley went for over 1,000 yards.
It was clear Manning’s time was up, so Gettleman decided to make another bold pick by drafting Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall in the 2019 draft.
Out of the 2019 quarterback class, Jones was not an awful pick.
Yet the 2018 class was the one to go after and Gettleman built his team backwards.
Barkley went over 1,000 yards once again in 2019, but it did not make much of a difference in the final standings.
Manning rode off into the sunset after the season and the Giants still stunk.
Missing Out On Great Talent
It is easy to play the hindsight game and look at players the Giants could have drafted instead of Barkley.
But one must be realistic and consider the pre-draft rankings, especially for the No. 2 overall pick.
The organization is happy they did not go after Josh Rosen.
But what about Sam Darnold and Josh Allen?
Given the way the former started his career, playing with the Giants may not have gone well.
The latter could have succeeded, but who knows if he would have been given the proper coaching like he has received in Buffalo.
Jones is now the one stuck in the Giants system where he can play well, but still lose because of the lack of talent on the entire roster.
Dave Gettleman may have found both a franchise quarterback and franchise left tackle yet still failed miserably as a General Manager. Very difficult to do. #TogetherBlue
— Shaun Morash (@MrazCBS) September 28, 2021
And that ultimately falls upon the shoulders of Gettleman.
If the Giants fall to 0-4 this week, the players and coaches are going to get most of the blame.
Maybe offensive coordinator Jason Garrett even loses his job.
But the man who built the roster, Gettleman, made some key mistakes and drafting a running back at No. 2 overall stands out as his biggest whiff.
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