The New York Giants were one of the NFL’s most pleasant surprises last season, and they’re hoping to build on that success this year.
They won six of their first seven games, and in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, they upset the 13-4 Minnesota Vikings to win their first postseason game since the 2011 season.
Their roster looks largely the same as it did in 2022, and partly as a result, former star wide receiver Calvin Johnson told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson that they need running back Saquon Barkley to play well if they are to at least duplicate what they did last year.
New York Giants need Saquon Barkley if they want to go to the places that they want to go shared Calvin Johnson while on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“They need him.” https://t.co/v3yiPl5HEt pic.twitter.com/mves0AViyy
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) August 31, 2023
With apologies to Darius Slayton, New York lacks any stud wide receivers, which has made Barkley the face of their offense.
After a few injury-riddled seasons, Barkley appeared in 16 games and put up 1,312 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in 2022 while being named to the Pro Bowl.
He was involved in a contract dispute during the offseason, but he and the team came to a temporary solution when he agreed to a one-year deal for this season.
He reportedly wants to remain with the Giants beyond this year, but with the running back market across the league at an all-time low, it remains to be seen if the team will pay him what he is worth.
For now, with the lack of depth across the NFC, perhaps the team can sneak into the playoffs again if Barkley has another big year and manages to stay healthy once again, and especially if quarterback Daniel Jones also shows some growth.
