INDIANAPOLIS — The Giants did not draft Saquon Barkley to trade him.
Three years after former general manager Dave Gettleman delivered an infamous line about Odell Beckham Jr.’s trade market that turned out to be misleading, the Giants are back at the NFL Scouting Combine with another injury-plagued star caught up in trade rumors.
That, however, is where the comparison ends.
Barkley’s strong preference is to stay with the Giants even as they start another rebuilding process, according to a source. A handful of agents, coaches, scouts and executives surveyed in Indianapolis agreed the Giants would need to be blown away to trade away Barkley, who is still the face of the franchise.
General manager Joe Schoen, who replaced Gettleman in January, said Tuesday the Giants are “open to everything” in response to a question that singled out Barkley. That answer was misconstrued in some corners of the viral news vortex to make it sound as if Barkley was being shopped, which is not the case.
Shedding Barkley’s fully guaranteed $7.2 million salary would accelerate the Giants’ goal of getting from about $5.8 million over the salary cap to as much as $40 million under the cap. But there are other complex factors to consider, such as making sure there is enough supporting talent to properly evaluate quarterback Daniel Jones, the message sent by trading the former No. 2-overall pick at his lowest value and the allure of a potential third-round compensatory pick in the 2024 draft gained by keeping him until next offseason.
“If he was traded to a team with just a decent offensive line,” one NFL coach said, “he could make them really regret it.”
Coming off two seasons shortened by injuries to his knee and ankle, Barkley’s trade value now is about a fourth-round pick with maybe a late-round pick added, according to league sources. Whereas the concern with Beckham was that his unhappiness with his contract or demands for the ball would have an adverse locker-room effect, the Giants consider Barkley to be a good teammate even if he is forced to play on his fifth-year option.
“This regime didn’t draft him so it’s easier for them to cut ties,” one NFL personnel executive said, “but the Giants want to put a competitive team on the field.”
The Giants’ scouting focus at the combine has been on running backs to complement Barkley — and fill the shoes of cap-casualty Devontae Booker — not to take over the lead role. It puts pass protection — Barkley’s weakness — into the spotlight, and scouts value Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams (projected middle-round pick) and Florida’s Dameon Pierce (projected late-round pick) in that regard.
“If the linebacker is trying to run me over, I’m going to stick my nose in there because that’s the kind of football player that I am,” Williams said. “I grew up playing middle linebacker and safety in high school, so I don’t shy away from contact. It’s a mentality thing: I’m going to assert my dominance and let them know I’m trying to be there every play.”
Pierce made news Friday on the bench press as he went for his 20th and final rep at 225 pounds. The spotter was about to take away the bar after 19, but Pierce yelled, “Don’t take that b—-,” as seen in a video circulated by Pro Football Focus.
“All the times I was in pass protection, the quarterback didn’t get hit,” Pierce said bluntly. He described his physicality as, “knowing how to take hits and how to give hits. You don’t ever see the hammer broken, but you always see the nail bent. Long story short, be the hammer, not the nail.”
Pierce said he met at the combine with the Giants, who had three of last year’s assistant coaches (Russ Callaway, Sean Spencer and Rob Sale) just join Florida’s staff. Easy communication lines.
“It’s really just willingness as a pass protector or a runner,” Pierce said. “Everybody wants to make everything look pretty, but that’s not the case all the time.”
