Imagine if they drafted Love at 5?

I feel like we have a pretty good backfield heading into next year assuming Skat is healthy.

Rather see S or WR here...

I wouldn't be upset though I'd rather see someone else BPA at that spot. He can play in the slot as well and they can be pretty creative with different packages.

in the NFL right out of the gate. Ashton Jeanty (taken 6th in the draft last year) has the second most GTD money at the position only to Saquon Barkley, and by only about $104K.

Jeanty has a contract AAV that is 9th in the NFL, and an overall contract value of 5th in the NFL in terms of the position.

You can add to the position with a good player probably with a 6th round pick. Skattebo is already an impact player, Tracy is a good change of pace.

I'll tell you what, if this team doesn't get a good starting RG and RT it won't matter if it's Love or Skattebo or anyone else back there. Same goes if they don't have weapons to scare a defense away from 8+ men in the box.

A good RB play is at least a 5-yard rush. But 5, 7, 10 yard rushing gains aren't as valuable as a 20-yard gain on a reception. That's why Bijan Robinson's team was at home for the playoffs and JSN's team won the Super Bowl.

A great WR and a relatively good RB is way more valuable than a great RB and a relatively good WR. And a great WR is much more likely to help their RB be better than vice versa.

Does a superstar RB really help that much?

continues to fall into this trap that the OL can only be addressed with the first round pick.

As Sy pointed out in our recent podcast, the bulk of the Ravens' drafting of OLs has come later in the draft.

That doesn't mean OL is off the board in round one, but stop acting like it is a necessity. It isn't.

That someone trades up for him with the Giants

Skatt has to prove he can come back in the same form. His style of running is going to cause injury. The idea of just having Tracey doesn’t exactly thrill me. So it’s not a throw the remote kind of idea.

I’m confident in saying Schoen would not take Love at #5.

Skatt and Tracy are 4th and 5th round picks respectively. There is not a lot of cap space sunk into the RB position as the roster stands today. Singletary will very likely be released which frees up $5M.

In comment 17108211 section125 said:

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In comment 17108209 AcesUp said: Quote: Barkley was the 2nd pick in a loaded class that had franchise QBs at our pick. The opportunity cost there was huge - we bypassed a potential franchise altering pick through QB or a trade down for a bounty of picks to take what was essentially a luxury pick. That cost isn't on the table in this draft. Basically the 5th pick in this draft isn't nearly as valuable as the 2nd pick was in that draft. Having said all that, I would have a hard time getting fully behind it given other needs and the confidence I have in our current backfield. I think for me, I'd be willing to overlook need or positional value at this spot, just not both. What quarterback?

Josh Allen was taken #7, obviously. Sam Darnold is a franchise QB, I think he's shown that now. The question is, could he have developed to this point in year two or three if he wasn't drafted by the New York Jets? Could Pat Shurmur have gotten it out of him if they had gone Darnold over Barkley in that draft?

Before everyone criticizes this post, I loved Saquon and the pick, however the biggest debate for me was Saquon or Darnold, or a trade down.

It is well-documented that Elway wanted to trade up in that draft for Sam Darnold at #2, and Dave Gettleman ignored the call.

Assclown doing assclown things

Had the Giants gotten #5, they could've drafted Josh Allen, or Quentin Nelson, or Bradley Chubb, and had the Broncos 2019 first rounder as well (they had the 10th overall pick, and traded down the following year, but who knows if they had gotten Darnold how that would've changed things).

except the draft process is never perfect. It aint the position you draft it's the player. If Love hits the ground running as a star RB this offense goes from good to great. Remember, we have a HC in charge that knows WTF he's doing and knows how to build around a running attack. HE won't screw up a ready made star like Shrumur, Judge and Daboll did.

PIcking Barkley wasn't the wrong move, it was every move and coach the Giants hired after that pick that didn't work. BArkley was and is a great player. They just screwed everything up after that pick. If they had built the right offense and OL and defense they win a lot of games with Barkley as the team MVP. They fucked it up. Doesn't mean you don't draft a RB high ever again. That's nonsense.

Of course in hindsight you'd take Allen or Jackson or even Darnold back in 18 but picking an all pro or 5-6 time pro bowler RB is never a bad decision. The Giants just failed to properly build around Barkley.

Would you rather pick a good linebacker, good tackle, good corner or great RB at pick 5? You'd take the RB every time.

IF NY doesn't love Tracy or even Scat, they should take Love at 5 assuming he checks off all the pre-equesites, especially in a draft where it appears to be a little thin at the top.

Or trade down, get the chalk positions, and make everyone happy and see how that goes. Could work. Could not.

who took pressure off of Lamar to be out there running on every play.

He might like that idea of a bell-cow back that could keep defenses honest.

We don't really know Skat's recovery and mindset for 2026 and Tracy is what he has always been.

Singletary most likely cut.

So....I could easily see Love being the pick.

In comment 17108220 Eric from BBI said:

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continues to fall into this trap that the OL can only be addressed with the first round pick. As Sy pointed out in our recent podcast, the bulk of the Ravens' drafting of OLs has come later in the draft. That doesn't mean OL is off the board in round one, but stop acting like it is a necessity. It isn't.

Eric, of course what you say is true, but typically those Ravens drafted OL after round 1 aren't counted on to come in and start right away as a rookie, unless injury forces it. Even a healthy Rosengarten (a second round pick) didn't start right away as a rookie, he played on specials and backup role early, before given the starting job in week 4, and he was an early starter among those drafted Ravens' OL you're referring to.

I think they will use picks on OL in the middle of this draft, perhaps even in the 2nd round, but even if you do, I think they are going to spend some money on some veteran guys they think can start right away.

as you think. They are a better positioned football team than they were in 2018.

new shiny toy and don't understand economics.

I downloaded all the contract data from OTC and ran a couple simple pivots. This is only for players with a contract, so FA will impact this in another few weeks. If you look at this data and feel like RB makes sense at pick 5 you are economically illiterate.

These tables show average guaranteed, total guaranteed and total contract value, the only positions worse investment than RB with a top 5 pick are kicker, punter and long snapper. FB and interior line are lower on the list for total guarantees because there are fewer of them emphasizing the point even more.

In comment 17108233 GiantBlue said:

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who took pressure off of Lamar to be out there running on every play. He might like that idea of a bell-cow back that could keep defenses honest.

I thought about that, too. Right now, you could argue, even with everyone healthy, Dart is the 2nd best RB on the team.

Of course, Harbaugh was spoiled by Henry - I think he's one of the top 5-8 RBs of all-time - who was the rare exception of size, power and speed.

Still, the better approach would be to upgrade the OL over buying a RB at #5.

I really am not opposed to anything and will just sit back and enjoy.

Eagles don’t win the Super Bowl without Barkley.

Great running back will win you games. Problem is if the rest of the team sucks they add wins to a losing record if the team is good the running back can put them over the top. 8 win team could be a 11 or 12 win team with strong running game in the playoffs.

The Giants RBs aren't stars, but Skat and Tracy are a very effective pair. It would be great to add a RB and create a trio like Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward. But if they draft a RB early in the first, that's not going to be the plan. Then that guy is going to be the bell-cow RB that gets most of the carries and more than half the offensive snaps.

I think drafting a RB late is a fantastic idea, because they can replace Singletary with a cheaper rookie who provides similar production.

I think drafting a RB in the first round would be... peculiar.

and much better OL than in 2018

It makes sense - but still not sure if it is the right move at the right time. FA will tell a lot.

Take the 10 players selected at pick 5-14 as a proxy of who you might pick at 5.

Witherspoon (good pick)
OL Paris Johnson- not good yet
LB Tyree Wilson - not good
RB Bijan - very good
Jalen Carter - top pick in this group
OL Darnell Wright - ok player
OL Peter Skronkowski - not good
RB Gibbs - very good
DE Van Ness - not good
OL Broderick Jones - ok player

That's a lot of OL who are not that good (maybe some will become good). But even considering positional value, the 2 RBs are good picks in that zone. They are probably 3rd and 4th best out of the 10. You'd rather have Carter and Witherspoon, but if you came out of that minefield with Bijan or Gibbs, you should be happy.

Every draft is different of course, but if the plan is just to pick OL and the players arent good, then the plan is not good.

A 4-13 team that actually finished 5th in the NFL in Rush Yards/game drafting a running back at overall #5? And with last year's productive rookie RB hurt for half the season?

Come on guys, get real.

... The phone should ring.

They have 2 productive RBs plus Dart runs. They prob go Downs or WR

Interesting analysis.

I'd be interested if you just focused on, say the contracts for the top 5 or top 10 in dollar value by position.

We're not talking about 5th rounders or UDFAs at their position skewing the overall average. We're talking about drafting a player at 5th overall that has the potential to be at least in the top 10 or even top 5 at their position.

Teams seem to either have a very high priced, three down, exceptional RB (Barkley, Robinson, Gibbs etc.) or a most a much lower average priced "running back by committee".

IF you think Love is in the Barkley, Gibbs camp, you need to assess him as such.

Given the Giants already have two pretty good pieces in their "running back by committee" in Skattebo and Tracy, I'd highly doubt there is value for the Giants to draft Love. But if they feel Love is clearly BPA, I won't throw the remote (just be pretty surprised).

In comment 17108232 djm said:

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except the draft process is never perfect. It aint the position you draft it's the player. If Love hits the ground running as a star RB this offense goes from good to great. Remember, we have a HC in charge that knows WTF he's doing and knows how to build around a running attack. HE won't screw up a ready made star like Shrumur, Judge and Daboll did. PIcking Barkley wasn't the wrong move, it was every move and coach the Giants hired after that pick that didn't work. BArkley was and is a great player. They just screwed everything up after that pick. If they had built the right offense and OL and defense they win a lot of games with Barkley as the team MVP. They fucked it up. Doesn't mean you don't draft a RB high ever again. That's nonsense. Of course in hindsight you'd take Allen or Jackson or even Darnold back in 18 but picking an all pro or 5-6 time pro bowler RB is never a bad decision. The Giants just failed to properly build around Barkley. Would you rather pick a good linebacker, good tackle, good corner or great RB at pick 5? You'd take the RB every time. IF NY doesn't love Tracy or even Scat, they should take Love at 5 assuming he checks off all the pre-equesites, especially in a draft where it appears to be a little thin at the top. Or trade down, get the chalk positions, and make everyone happy and see how that goes. Could work. Could not.

Not necessarily. Bijan had the 12th best yards from scrimmage season in NFL history in 2025.

In 2019, CMC had the 3rd best. In both cases, their teams' offense was better the season prior.

Balanced offenses with varied good weapons is better than offenses that have concentrated talent at RB.

and those guys, although all good players, made little impact on their teams records and performances. In fact, then all their HC's got fired. RBs don't make any impact on bad teams.

'Imagine the Giants drafting Love @ 5
Some on BBI will cry
But maybe Jeremiyah will turn those frowns upside down
After his first long TD run'

and it will happen.

In comment 17108232 djm said:

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If Love hits the ground running as a star RB this offense goes from good to great.

We don't want him to hit the ground running, we want him to stay on his feet. That's what'll make this offense go from good to great.

Had nearly 2200 yards rushing last year, with nearly 1600 yards rushing from the running back position.

They also had nearly 650 yards receiving from the running back positions.

And this is with Tracy missing 3 games, and Skattebo missing 9 games.

The Giants were second in the league in rush attempts, and 5th in the league in rushing.

2250 yards from scrimmage from the running back position is excellent. This isn't a problem to fix, this is a strength.

In comment 17108285 Trainmaster said:

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Interesting analysis. I'd be interested if you just focused on, say the contracts for the top 5 or top 10 in dollar value by position. We're not talking about 5th rounders or UDFAs at their position skewing the overall average. We're talking about drafting a player at 5th overall that has the potential to be at least in the top 10 or even top 5 at their position. Teams seem to either have a very high priced, three down, exceptional RB (Barkley, Robinson, Gibbs etc.) or a most a much lower average priced "running back by committee". IF you think Love is in the Barkley, Gibbs camp, you need to assess him as such. Given the Giants already have two pretty good pieces in their "running back by committee" in Skattebo and Tracy, I'd highly doubt there is value for the Giants to draft Love. But if they feel Love is clearly BPA, I won't throw the remote (just be pretty surprised).

Top 5 or 10 by what metric? APY? Cap Hit? Total Guaranteed $$?

By APY these are the top 5 RB's, their APY and their APY rank overall

1. Saquon Barkley $20.6M 101
2. Christian McCaffrey $19M 132
3. Derrick Henry $15M 187
4. Jonathan Taylor $14M 196
5. Alvin Kamara $12.25 225

APY doesn't mean as much as total guaranteed or cap hit, but it's a consistent measure nonetheless.

In the top 225 contracts (just an arbitrary number because I was looking for top 5 RB's and the 5th was 225th) in the league by APY only 5 are RBs. OC is the only one that low and most teams pay one C. I just don't see the case where RB at #5 is good value.

First 11 games Tracy averaged less than 4.0ypc. Four of those games were less than 3.5. Boosted stats the last four games with three being against bottom teams. 4.2ypc overall. Skattebo averaged 4.1ypc. Aikman commented about the poor ypc in the Monday Night game.

Some fans standards seem to be down when it comes to the running game. It's been so long when the Giants were a legitimate top running team and back then it was almost exclusively with the RB's.

There is a lot more to the running game then just RB's but Giants should not think the position is covered.

That I think can be really good for us, I wouldn't hate it. But the reality is, you maximize the RB by surrounding with a strong Oline. Oline trumps individual RB, as we saw first hand with Barkley here verses Philly.

We'd be much better of off going with Francis Mauigoa to accelerate what we already have at the position. IMO, there are several worthy candidates who may be there to bolster our defense and improve on our biggest area of weakness, which is stopping the run. But if our priority is to build around Dart, the smart play is to prioritize the Oline. Mauigoa can elevate in pass protection, but he's a difference maker in the running game. That's like a 2x benefit for Dart.

In comment 17108336 UberAlias said:

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Mauigoa can elevate in pass protection, but he's a difference maker in the running game. That's like a 2x benefit for Dart.

Much better investment. The Giants offensive problem is moving the ball in the air.

In comment 17108177 GiantBlue said:

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From today's CBS.com mock draft.... Jeremiyah Love RB Notre Dame • Jr • 6'0" / 214 lbs POSITION RNK 1st RUYDS 1372 YDS/ATT 6.9 REYDS 280 TDS 21 Love is my favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and the best overall player in the draft. He shows exceptional vision and patience, is a weapon as a receiver and brings home-run ability every time he touches the ball. Love has outstanding lateral quickness and explosiveness and gives me Bijan Robinson vibes every time I watch him. Future superstar.

First, who blocks for him? Second, can he stop the run that cost the Giants so many games?

In comment 17108343 Jack Stroud said:

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First, who blocks for him? Second, can he stop the run that cost the Giants so many games?

1) The players that they add/re-sign in free agency will block for him.
2) He can stop the run by giving the Giants a lead that forces opposing offenses to throw the ball.

In comment 17108220 Eric from BBI said:

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continues to fall into this trap that the OL can only be addressed with the first round pick. As Sy pointed out in our recent podcast, the bulk of the Ravens' drafting of OLs has come later in the draft. That doesn't mean OL is off the board in round one, but stop acting like it is a necessity. It isn't.

It comes from them not making it here in the past decade. Hell, even the first-rounder busted.

In comment 17108220 Eric from BBI said:

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continues to fall into this trap that the OL can only be addressed with the first round pick. As Sy pointed out in our recent podcast, the bulk of the Ravens' drafting of OLs has come later in the draft. That doesn't mean OL is off the board in round one, but stop acting like it is a necessity. It isn't.

True, but be careful here. JH is not used to drafting in this area of round 1. This will be the highest pick he's ever had. The considerations @5 are not the same as they are in the 20's --good Oline don't hang around very long, so that could skew things.

I've always felt there's a certain significance to someone's first pick. Being such a high pick and JHs first in NY, I think there is something to be said for what he does here. Whichever way he goes, it will undoubtedly be a reflection of his core beliefs.

In comment 17108179 Rudy5757 said:

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In round 1 and either significantly improved or won the Super Bowl? I’m more interested in winning rather than how many yards a rb gets. You pay too $$ for an unproven guy. It’s a passing league, you can win with a good rb and or a stable of backs. RB is no longer an impact position.

This was absolutely correct 5-7 years ago but the pendulum is swinging the other direction. A lot more 12 and 13 personnel this year to bring defenses out of nickel. Teams that didn’t usually got punished.

Not advocating for Love at 5 but the run game is already on its way back. The next adjustment is defenses not changing personnel based on formation and playing trends. Nowadays, linebackers have to possess some coverage ability but I think linebackers will come back a bit too.

My point is you don't draft positions. You draft players.

If you insist on drafting positions, you're just wrong.

In comment 17108361 Eric from BBI said:

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My point is you don't draft positions. You draft players. If you insist on drafting positions, you're just wrong.

I'm 1000% behind you on drafting players not positions. Especially in the top 5. But you said "the bulk of the Ravens' drafting of OLs has come later in the draft", so I was pointing out the fact that that detail ~could~ be skewed by where the Ravens have historically drafted. It's possible that his waiting to draft OLine until later in the draft is at least partially a function of top flight Oline already being gone by his round 1 pick. I'm not wrong about that.

Correct, but the two "top" OL prospects in this draft are not considered elite OTs. In fact, many pundits think BOTH may be better suited to guard. That doesn't mean they can't/won't be good players. But these two are not even in the Andrew Thomas category in terms of size/length/athletic ability for the position.

I think Maugoia has a Ravens-like body type, but I'm not sure Harbaugh will see the value in taking him a #5. He might, but I could easily see him going with one of the Ohio State guys instead.

My point is the arguments in this thread about the Giant MUST draft OL in round one are the same old tired arguments that I've heard for the last 10 years.

I'm not advocating for the Giants to draft Love, but I would not completely discount taking the guy who is perceived as THE best offensive talent in the draft.

That's completely fair. If they are not in the same tier as other options, then we should pass. Maugoia is someone I am on the fence about. I thought Sy said he was in his top 5 on the podcast (I definitely could be wrong). If he is, then he would be highly attractive to me for reasons you have discussed (building around Dart) and my general philosophy of Oline. But bottom line for me is, first round picks, especially in the top 5, need to prioritize player over position. I'm fully behind that.

but I’m open to anything. Andy Reid will draft Love and by Week 3 everyone will marvel that he found another elite talent to pair with Mahomes.

Dart/Nabers/Love/Scattebo/Theo/AT/Linderbaum(?) could be the core of a ridiculous offense.

The Ravens didn't spend a draft pick on him and already had a team. He was a finishing piece.

In a normal draft, with the needs the Giants have, and with serviceable RBs on the roster, Love makes no sense.

However, this is starting to look like a poor draft, and if the choice at 5 is Love vs a bunch of dramatically worse players, Love starts to look like the best pick.

In comment 17108371 bceagle05 said:

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but I’m open to anything. Andy Reid will draft Love and by Week 3 everyone will marvel that he found another elite talent to pair with Mahomes. Dart/Nabers/Love/Scattebo/Theo/AT/Linderbaum(?) could be the core of a ridiculous offense.

My guess is that the stock of Styles is going to go through the roof after the Combine.

In comment 17108369 UberAlias said:

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That's completely fair. If they are not in the same tier as other options, then we should pass. Maugoia is someone I am on the fence about. I thought Sy said he was in his top 5 on the podcast (I definitely could be wrong). If he is, then he would be highly attractive to me for reasons you have discussed (building around Dart) and my general philosophy of Oline. But bottom line for me is, first round picks, especially in the top 5, need to prioritize player over position. I'm fully behind that.

Sy is OK with him at #5. He's not 100 percent sold he's a tackle, but he values guards. That's when I made my Quentin Nelson reference.

Yeah, that makes sense.

reminded me of Joey in Va's Alan Faneca argument.

In comment 17108220 Eric from BBI said:

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continues to fall into this trap that the OL can only be addressed with the first round pick. As Sy pointed out in our recent podcast, the bulk of the Ravens' drafting of OLs has come later in the draft. That doesn't mean OL is off the board in round one, but stop acting like it is a necessity. It isn't.

Eric,
you have been consistent in this position for years...you have been proven correct..
to me the OL is best addressed in rds 4-7

In comment 17108946 AROCK1000 said:

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In comment 17108220 Eric from BBI said: Quote: continues to fall into this trap that the OL can only be addressed with the first round pick. As Sy pointed out in our recent podcast, the bulk of the Ravens' drafting of OLs has come later in the draft. That doesn't mean OL is off the board in round one, but stop acting like it is a necessity. It isn't. Eric, you have been consistent in this position for years...you have been proven correct.. to me the OL is best addressed in rds 4-7

this may be one of the dumbest statements I have ever read on here. No offense.

"to me the OL is best addressed in rds 4-7"

best addressed? no, it is not. especially in the - ...-7" lol. Yeah, let's use all the 6th and 7th round picks on OL and build out a 5-man unit the next few drafts. moronic, right?

However, what is true, to Eric's point, is you simply cannot continue to use premium draft picks on the OL and it's a hallmark of all successful teams to get OL contribution from sources outside the top of the draft - and that does include a day three pick or UDFA every now and then (just look at the Giants lines from 42 and 46). but "best addressed" no, that's just silly.