Is Saquon Barkley a draft bust?

Saquon Barkley was the second-overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. The New York Giants were hoping to make him the greatest playmaker in the league, and he had two good seasons to start his career, with over 1k rushing yards in both years. He was also a great asset in the passing game, with more than 1000 receiving yards in his first two years.

But injuries and an awful offensive line have derailed Barkley’s last two years. Even though he played in 13 games in 2021, he did not cross the 600 yards mark, also suffering from small injuries that are very bad for a running back.

Simply put, while the Giants are in dire need of playmakers in all parts of the offense, Barkley did not help them in the last two years and he’s entering the final year of his contract. The Giants will have to make a major decision about whether to extend him or not. Should they?

It’s a very good question and one that’s not that simple. It’s never good to extend a running back because the durability of the position is below the league average and you might be playing a player whose quality can drop really fast. Perhaps that’s what happened to Barkley two years after his rookie season: his injuries made his level fall off a cliff and he’s not the same elusive running back he was at Penn State.

There’s a lot to be said about Barkley’s bad years, especially in regards to the remainder of the Giants‘ offense. But one can’t deny that his individual level really went down in the last year. When you have a top-2 pick in the draft, you expect the selected player to be a franchise cornerstone for even more than a decade, and for him to be a star.

As of now, Barkley is a bust. And his level does not merit a contract extension, let alone the $7,2M the Giants can get back in case they trade him. The Giants made a major mistake by selecting him with the second overall pick in 2018 and they’re now paying the price with a depleted roster and a supposed star player who’s far from a star.