Phil Simms, Boomer Esiason approve of Giants selecting Saquon Barkley
Giants running back Saquon Barkley catches a pass during pregame warmups at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford N.J. on Thursday. Credit: Daniel De Mato
To anyone who second-guessed the Giants for passing up a quarterback and drafting Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, Phil Simms has a message for you: The Giants were right.
Should they have gone quarterback with the second overall pick?
“No, they want to win now,” Simms said Tuesday at a CBS news conference in advance of the NFL regular season. “If you bring a quarterback in now, you create controversy, because [the media] would be writing about something every day.”
Better to draft Barkley, an explosive running back who can complement the 37-year-old Manning, who may be near the end of his career but still has plenty left, according to Simms. That means the Giants could be poised for a major bounce-back from last year’s 3-13 season.
“I do think they’re a definite playoff contender,” Simms said. “I think I would be disappointed as an announcer, as an analyst, being an ex-Giant if they aren’t a playoff team. All the moves they’ve made are for now. They’ve got some really good role players now, guys like [linebacker] Kareem Martin. Nobody pays attention, but those are the guys that help the stars be the stars.”
Simms gives his blessing to the Giants taking Barkley, although he said it’s no guarantee that he becomes an overnight sensation.
“At the end of the year, if you tell me he ends up being the fourth best running back in the draft, I’m like, OK, it happens almost every year,” he said. “We see sixth and seventh rounders [play well]. I think it’s the hardest position to judge coming out, because we see so many styles and different ways to get it done now.”
Simms’ fellow CBS analyst, Boomer Esiason, is also encouraged by the Giants’ roster, and believes Manning is poised for one of his best seasons yet.
“You don’t pay Odell Beckham $95 million in new money if you’re not all in right now,” Esiason said. “I think this team is poised for a comeback, and I think this can be a huge year for a 37-year-old quarterback. I’m in awe of the talent around Eli, a new left tackle [Nate Solder], a shiny new running back and then Odell Beckham healthy and happy. Throw in [tight end] Evan Engram and [wide receiver] Sterling Shepard, and that’s about as good as it gets in the NFL. No more excuses. A quarterback with the history of Eli, he should have no problem exploiting all that talent.”
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
