The New York Giants have met with one of the NFL’s top 2023 draft prospects, leading some to speculate that they have a replacement lined up in the event that a key player leaves in free agency.
Per FOX Sports’ NFC East reporter Ralph Vacchiano, the Giants met with Texas running back Bijan Robinson at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Barkley is the consensus No. 1 running back prospect of this year’s draft class.
A simple meeting with a prospect does not mean that Robinson is going to the Giants, of course. But there’s obviously interest on their end, and this will be something to monitor closely if star running back Saquon Barkley leaves for free agency.
Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones are both eligible to enter free agency, which begins on Mar. 15. The Giants can only use the franchise tag on one of those two players, so it’ll be interesting to see how GM Joe Schoen proceeds with the contract statuses of both players.
After three injury-riddled seasons, Barkley stayed healthy and rushed for a career-high 1,312 yards to go along with 10 touchdowns. Jones also tuned in the best season of his career after three frustrating seasons, and the duo helped New York make a surprise return to the postseason.
The Giants upset the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round. Now, we wait and see if Jones and/or Barkley will be here to help the Giants build off a promising 2022 season.
