NFL Draft 2018: 3 reasons Saquon Barkley should be No. 1 pick
Saquon Barkley is the best running back in the 2018 NFL Draft class, but should he be chosen No. 1 overall? Here’s why he should.
It is no secret that this year’s draft class is loaded with talent at quarterback. For months and months on end all the talking heads have been discussing which quarterbacks will go where on Thursday’s draft. This morning, Dan Patrick discussed that his intel in the NFL world picked up that Cleveland was looking at either Josh Allen or Baker Mayfield for the number one pick with the Giants nearly locked with Barkley at number two.
DP shares the latest intel his #NFLDraft sources have been telling him about the top 3 picks in the draft pic.twitter.com/x1OmNIvXFe
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) April 23, 2018
Later on in the clip, one of Dan’s producers mentions that perhaps the Browns should take Barkley at number one overall. This would make sense as both Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield do not sound like the first options for either the Giants and the Jets at picks two and three. I have tended to agree with that strategy for about the last month. There are three distinct reasons as to why this would be the best route of choice for the Browns.
3. Barkley is a can’t miss prospect
Many have stated that Saquon Barkely is the best pro prospect at running back since Adrian Peterson came in out in 2007, which is definitely a bold statement but is in fact true. Watching Barkley run the football he has a lot of Adrian Peterson in him and I may suggest he is faster than Peterson was coming out of college. However, he separates himself from other running backs with his versatility
To make his NFL comparisons, he runs the football much like an Adrian Peterson or even a Larry Johnson as a tough, physical runner. However, he has the receiving abilities of a Reggie Bush or a David Johnson. Penn State also utilized Barkley on special teams as a kickoff returner and recorded two kickoff returns for touchdowns this past season.
I get that this running back class is deep, especially with talented players such as Nick Chubb, Sony Michell, Derrius Guice and Josh Adams. However, you pair up Barkley with Tyrod Taylor this season and either Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield or even Josh Rosen in the future, the Browns may have something special brewing.