ARLINGTON, Texas – Saquon Barkley weaved in and out of radio row as cameras flashed and the Dallas Cowboys faithful looked on from the upper level, showering him with jeers.
“I already have Cowboy fans yelling at me saying they’re going to run me over and stuff,” Barkley said with a smile.
Welcome to draft night at AT&T Stadium where the former Penn State star was selected No. 2 overall by the New York Giants and thus became public enemy No. 1 for those with the Dallas star plastered on their jerseys, hats and in some cases skin, too. It will be part of this heated rivalry moving forward, one that Barkley was introduced to on one of the biggest nights of his life.
“To come back to the place where I was drafted is going to be a special moment,” he said. “Just being here and this week in general has been special to me. I’m truly excited to get it going.”
The rest of the NFC East sounds like it’s ready for the newest addition, as well. Dallas star Ezekiel Elliott tweeted at Barkley moments after his selection about seeing him twice a year. As one Cowboy fan put it to a Giants fan out in the parking lot hours ahead of the Browns selecting Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall, “You guys draft Barkley, it’s over for everybody.”
While rumors of Barkley going to the Giants circulated for months and groans about if the Giants should instead take a quarterback to groom the heir apparent to 37-year-old Eli Manning, it wasn’t until Mayfield was selected and Barkley saw a New Jersey area code pop up on his phone that he realized this was it.
Sitting in the green room with his family and with thoughts of his newborn daughter on his mind, this was the latest in a whirlwind two days.
“It’s been crazy for me – crazy in a good way,” he said. “I was able to get accepted into fatherhood and have my first child, my daughter Jada and from here on out I’ve got to do everything to represent her and try and set a good example for her – the good things I’ll do and the mistakes I’ll make that she can learn from. I came here with my family, my mother and father and get to live my dream of being drafted and taking another step to where I want to get to.”
On a night made for reflection, Barkley thought about a football career that could’ve gone down the tubes years prior as the high schooler who was once buried on the depth chart contemplated walking away from the sport.
With encouragement from his family he persevered, and he even had his high school’s White Hall Zephyrs logo and his high school number 21 on the inside of his tuxedo. That was another reminder of how far he’s come Thursday night as he celebrated with James Franklin and former position coach Charles Huff, too.
That moment Barkley waited for since he was a boy watching Curtis Martin and the Jets run around on TV from his family’s living room came to fruition under the bright lights of Big D.
“The Jets fan thing kind of went out the window the day I declared for the NFL Draft, but I’m coming home,” he said. “I was born in the Bronx, born in New York, I live right in the Lehigh Valley so it’s only an hour and 45 [minutes] from the city, one hour and 15 minutes from New Jersey — depending who is driving — so it’s an honor to be able to get to come home, and I get to stay in the blue and white colors and I’m definitely excited about that also.”
Barkley joins a talented roster in New York that despite dealing with injuries last season could at full health be one of the most dynamic offenses in the league. When Barkley visited with the Giants in the lead up to the draft, he said it was the trophy case that caught his attention. Eyeing up a Lombardi Trophy, he said it became clear what the expectations are for that franchise and having the chance to continue building on that with this offense made his eyes light up as he spoke about it to reporters in AT&T Stadium.
“Winning now, yeah, that’s what you play the game for; to win championships and to win now,” he said. “You walk in and you see the Super Bowl trophies hanging up in the trophy case and that’s something you admire, and that’s something you strive for and that’s the standard for that place. You know that’s the expectation when you walk in. They were 3-13 last year, lot of injuries, but that’s football. That team is a lot better than 3-13.”
A lot of expectations will be put on Barkley as a high draft pick in the Big Apple. Add in that he’s signed with Jay Z’s Roc Nation sports and Barkley’s fame will continue to skyrocket overnight. At 21 years old he already has an endorsement deal with Nike and was promoting Bose headphones on draft night as well. Look for that list to grow in the coming days and months as the Giants are already taking orders for apparel featuring the charismatic back.
“He’s a great looking kid, he’s an awesome personality and he’s the right type of personality to go to a market like New York,” former Nittany Lion LaVar Arrington said. Barkley became the first player selected in that same No. 2 overall spot since Arrington did so in 2000 and was the first former Penn State player taken in the first round since Jared Odrick in 2010. “He won’t allow the glitz and the glam of that big city to knock him off of his focus. He will thrive.”
As Barkley made his way through the venue and took a picture with his family, he stopped to congratulate newly selected New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold. Mayfield, Barkley and Darnold, who was picked third overall, will likely have their careers compared for years to come.
“I walked right by him and I said congratulations and said see you in New York,” he said of the quarterback who was on the other side of one of the most memorable Rose Bowl games. “We look forward to playing each other.”
And of course Elliott, the former Buckeye looks forward to his divisional showdown with Barkley. Elliott became a measuring stick of sorts for Barkley as the then wide-eyed freshman put on a show in 2015 at the Horseshoe, becoming the better back on that night as he posted 194 yards.
Barkley also has Elliott’s success to thank in helping bolster his case that a running back could indeed be worth a top-5 pick. Barkley was the 21st running back selected in the first round since 2008 and in doing so surpassed the draft nights of Leonard Fournette (4th overall, 2017), Christian McCaffrey (8th overall, 2017), Elliott (4th overall, 2016), Todd Gurley (10th overall, 2015), Melvin Gordon (15th overall, 2015) and Trent Richardson (3rd overall, 2012).
Still, none of that will matter once Barkley puts on his new shade of New York blue and starts the next chapter of his career.
“I want my new teammates to know I’m a guy who is passionate about the game of football, a true competitor, a guy who will do anything to win and a guy who is always going to be there for you,” he said. “I know I’m a young age, but if you ever want anyone to bounce things off of I’m always going to be here and [I’m] just looking forward to meeting those guys and starting that relationship.”