How should Big Blue manage the loss of Barkley for the year?
The Giants 17-13 loss to Chicago on Sunday was overshadowed by Saquon Barkley going down late in the first quarter with a devastating knee injury. This puts the Giants front office in a tough position; they are now on a hotter seat starting their season off with an 0-2 for the seventh time in the last 8 seasons. No one is going to make excuses for this storied franchise continuing to lose and disappoint game after game. They now have to play one of the toughest schedules in the league with games vs the NFC West and AFC North without their best player. If the Giants find themselves selecting in the top five of the NFL draft once again they will have to press the restart button on their rebuild. Many will call for the Giants to then select one of the stud Quarterbacks in this loaded draft class and give up on Daniel Jones. Dave Gettleman and first-year head coach Joe Judge need to do everything in their power to avoid that outcome. That starts with finding a replacement running back to replace the production of Barkley the best that they can. Here are some options for New York to look into, to help their young team remain somewhat competitive in 2020.
1. Sign Devonta Freeman
Freeman, a former Pro Bowler in 2015 and 2016 in Atlanta manning the backfield for Matt Ryan’s offense is still a free agent. He was cut by Atlanta last season for issues relating to his contract. Freeman has worked out for Seattle during the offseason unable to agree on a contract they offered worth four-million dollars, and recently worked out for the Eagles just last week. The Giants brought the veteran back in on Monday for a workout. This makes sense being that the Giants are limited now to Dion Lewis, a much smaller back who is known for his pass-catching ability. Freeman will bring size and power to this Giants offense who is now in need of more offensive playmakers. The 28-year-old former Falcon will not save the Giants offense but could be their main back to use on the ground with a combination of Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman.
2. Stay with what is in house
This may not be the most logical solution to the blind eye just looking at the roster on paper but, this would allow the Giants to fully see if what Dave Gettleman brought in is enough to backup Barkley in the future. If the Giants sign any free agent in the market they will not be a part of the future plans in New York. The Giants now have Dion Lewis, and Wayne Gallman who wasn’t even active on Sunday as their only running backs on the current active roster. Gallman showed flashes last year when Barkley was sidelined with an ankle sprain. But, seemed to struggle in camp based on reports about a lot of dropped balls throughout the summer. It may not hurt to sign a free agent and still use both Lewis and Gallman and that is my guess for how the Giants will handle this situation.
3. Test out Youthful Projects
This season for the G-Men already seems to be lost. They have two names in their system that are very unique players. Rookies Javon Leake a Maryland product, and Austrian native Sandro Platzgammer. These two are smaller backs with a ton of raw talent. Leake backed up Anthony McFarland last year at Maryland, and was extremely effective in the kick return game as well as the rare carries he got. He had 102 carries for 736 yards and 8 touchdowns in his final season at Maryland. Unfortunately, he was cut by the Giants in late August but has familiarity with the system already and it would be no surprise to see them bring him back. Platzgammer was apart of the NFL International Player Pathway Program he has worked hard for years for an opportunity like this and was not cut in August, unlike Leake. If the Giants do not see what they like from free agent Devonta Freeman, it would be no shock to see Judge give the young journeyman a chance. What else could go wrong for the Giants this season it would be foolish to not even give these special athletes a chance to contribute.
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