Like every aspiring NFLer, Saquon Barkley has long dreamed of being selected No. 1 overall at the NFL Draft. Only, his representation isn’t too keen on that idea, according to Ben Baskin of The MMQB.
Per Baskin, whose extensive feature profiling Barkley was published on The MMQB on Wednesday, Barkley’s handlers at Roc Nation want the highly-touted running back going to New York with the second overall pick, not to Cleveland at No. 1.
Here’s the excerpt that has been making headlines around the NFL media circuit.
[blockquote] His Roc Nation handlers, however, don’t want him to be taken No. 1. They don’t want him in Cleveland. They want him to go second to the Giants and play in the media capital of the world. That’s where you can become the Face of the League. His manager even implored him to pull an Eli Manning and demand that the Browns not draft him. Barkley never considered the option. Sure, he likes the idea of being back in the city of his birth—even playing for the Jets, the team he grew up rooting for. And of course he’s heard countless people tell him that if he ends up in Cleveland, his career will be ruined.
[cite]- Ben Baskin of The MMQB on Barkley[/cite][/blockquote]
When asked about the report, Roc Nation agent Kim Miale told cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot via text that the agency did not in fact ask Barkley to “pull a Manning.”
“I can say on behalf of our entire team that we would be thrilled for Saquon to go to whichever team drafts him,” Miale told Cabot on Wednesday. “We know he will be a resounding success for any team fortunate enough to select him.”
With the Browns currently holding the first and fourth picks, there’s a good chance Barkley could indeed be Dawgpound-bound as the most well-rounded and highest-rated running back prospect many scouts have ever seen—not to mention, the top prospect at any position in his entire draft class. But most mock drafts have Cleveland taking a quarterback with that No. 1 pick, and several have the Giants doing the same, causing some to wonder if Barkley might even drop outside the top five as front offices are often hesitant to use such a high pick on a player at his position.
But the brand-conscious Barkley will continue to eye the No. 1 spot in the days leading up to the April 26 draft. And while it’s true that New York—in addition to being a familiar city for Barkley—is a more direct path to “Face of the League” status, the Penn State product has a “vision” when it comes to the opportunity to bring the Browns back to prominence.
“For the last few weeks he has told close friends about a vision he has,” Baskin wrote of Barkley. “He believes that if he brings a championship to the Land, as LeBron did, he’ll be hailed as the best athlete of his generation and have a statue built in his honor.”
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