For the Giants, most draft roads — but not all — lead to Saquon Barkley.
Anyone convinced the franchise’s highest draft pick in 37 years must be used to secure Eli Manning’s successor, ensuring a handoff at quarterback into the next decade, are likely to be disappointed Thursday night. The Giants, owners of the No. 2 selection in the draft, appear eager and enthralled about writing the name of the Penn State running back on a card and rushing it up to the podium with the same alacrity with which Barkley will slice through opposing defenses.
This 2018 quarterback class intrigues the Giants, but they view none of them as “pound-the-table’’ prospects — a scout’s description of what happens in the war room when lobbying hard for a must-have player. Use whatever word you prefer — transformative, generational — to describe what general manager Dave Gettleman requires out of the No. 2 pick in the draft. Has anyone ever referred to this crop of quarterbacks in those terms? The Giants view Barkley as that type of player.
Defensive end Bradley Chubb is close and guard Quenton Nelson is right there as well. All three are special — Barkley perhaps more so.
Chubb cannot be discounted. His North Carolina State résumé is impeccable. He plays a position of great need — where are the Giants getting a pass rush? — and he stands alone on an island, the draft’s one top-tier defensive end prospect. The Giants know they can get a starting-caliber running back in the second round — they really like Sony Michel of Georgia — and Gettleman is a build-from-the-inside-out thinker.
A trade down could develop only if the Giants receive what multiple team sources indicate would have to be a “king’s ransom’’ in return. The Browns could foil the Giants’ Barkley plan by taking him at No. 1, but all signs point to them taking a quarterback.
If Pat Shurmur is eyeing Manning’s replacement, make sure not to play poker with or buy a car from the new Giants head coach. His regard for Manning before this week was based on what he’s observed and heard over the years. After only a few weeks working with Manning, Shurmur sounds impressed with everything about him.
“The guy’s a pro,’’ Shurmur said, using an economy of words to underscore a great sense of appreciation.
More than once, he’s referred to Manning as “the fittest 37-year-old I’ve ever seen.’’ Manning smiled at that one and, in full self-deprecation-mode glee, said, “I guess he hasn’t been around too many 37-year-olds, maybe.’’
Manning’s unholy trinity of advanced age, diminishing returns and a still-huge contract is nothing to laugh at, of course, and this is not Manning’s job for life. Manning’s days would be numbered if the Giants went quarterback in the first round. That the strong expectation is they do not go that route does not mean 37-year old Eli can relax.
“I know I need that to kind of keep up with those other guys, but I feel good in that sense and I have to keep it that way,’’ he said.
Handing the ball to Barkley could make Manning feel forever young.
If Davis Webb has more days like Wednesday, perhaps he is next in line. He looks and sounds the part, and on Day 2 of this minicamp, he played the part, tossing two touchdown passes to tight end Jerell Adams and one to Travis Rudolph.
“I don’t think Webb is a guy that can be thrown out with the bathwater,’’ a national NFL scout told The Post. “He’s a big guy that can throw the ball and he actually broke a ton of Jared Goff’s records out at Cal. We saw what Shurmur did with Case Keenum and if he can do that with him — I’ll tell you, Webb’s every bit, if not more talented than Case Keenum is.’’
What separates Barkley from the “no running back this high’’ crowd is that there is no exact space on the depth chart for what he actually is.
“This guy’s a weapon, not just a running back,’’ the national scout said. “Flex him out as a wide receiver, put him one-on-one with a defensive back and see what happens. Or put him in the slot. Or put him on the wing, he’ll get behind the linebacker and between the safeties. All kinds of things. Somebody with an imagination on offense, if he doesn’t get 25 to 27 touches a game, the offensive coordinator ought to be fired.’’
Manning said he will not be breathlessly watching when the Giants are on the clock. He did not wink, but came close, when he added, “I’ll know who we draft and then go about my business.’’
That business might include a fist-pump if he hears Saquon Barkley’s name.
Paul’s pick
Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
There are no sure things in the NFL draft, but Barkley is as close as it gets. He is an uncommon blend of size, speed, power and production. As one scout told The Post, “Tell me what he can’t do.’’ Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. on the same side? Eli Manning rejoices.