BLUE CHEER
Giants fans celebrate Barkley’s selection
CHEERS filled MetLife Stadium again on Thursday night: Cheers of relief and cheers of optimism. Young, old and those just out for an evening stood on the turf at the stadium in the Meadowlands, thrilled NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had uttered the words they wanted to hear: “The New York Giants select Saquon Barkley ...”
Hundreds of fans dressed in Giants gear celebrated perhaps the most popular first-round choice since Lawrence Taylor was the No. 2 selection overall in 1981. There were high fives and hugs and vows to never to forget this moment.
Edgar Herrera, an elementary school principal from Roselle Park, N.J. was among those applauding the selection. He hoisted his 7-year-old son, Elijah, who also liked the idea of Barkley becoming a Giant. Dad was wearing a white Giants jacket with a blue N.Y. hat and white-framed sunglasses. Elijah wore a white No.10 Eli Manning jersey.
“This is what father and son time is about,” the elder Herrera said. “It’s the 2018 draft and what are we doing? We’re getting Barkley.”
The cheers actually began when the Browns used the No. 1-overall selection to take Baker Mayfield, the quarterback from Oklahoma. That seemed to stun just about everyone in the stadium. It left a mountain of options for the Giants: A choice of three highly regarded quarterbacks in Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen; or they could take Barkley or even trade down. It was clear those at MetLife wanted the Penn State running back.
“He’s one of the missing pieces to the puzzle,” said Francisco Rodriguez of Long Branch, N.J. “He’s explosive, he’s dynamic. I think he’s going to bring a great energy to New York. I think he’s going to bring Giant Pride back. I think everyone is excited. I don’t think we’ve seen this much excitement since LT got drafted.”
John Raines of Rutherford wanted Barkley, too. A Giants fan for four decades, the Vietnam veteran didn’t want any of the quarterbacks.
“They added to the offensive line through free agency and they still have a good quarterback in Eli,” Raines said. “You draft a quarterback and it’s a signal they’ve given up on the season. If you take Barkley you’re adding someone who can help get you to the Super Bowl.”
The Giants made it clear Man- ning is their quarterback for the near future. The addition of a dynamic back like Barkley should make things easier for the veteran quarterback.
“I have a lot of faith in Eli,” Raines said. “How many Super Bowls has he taken us to? How many MVPs does he have in the Super Bowl? I’m not worried about him.”
It was hard to find anyone who thought taking a running back with the No. 2 selection was not the right move. Not when his name is Saquon Barkley. Since 2012, the Giants have used five of their six first-round picks on offensive players. Only wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has gone to the Pro Bowl. Barkley could be next.
“Barkley is the guy they need,” Raines said. “We need more guys like [Phil] Simms, Taylor, [Carl] Banks and [Michael] Strahan. Those were the guys that had blue in their blood. I think Barkley does, too.”
All the NFL draft analysts and scouts seeking to uncover the secret to this quarterback class should have paid a visit to Damien Mama, a young guard trying to impress enough to stick on the Giants’ roster. The 6foot-3, 342-pound lineman knows plenty about two of the top quarterbacks for one reason: He was teammates with both.
Mama played high school ball at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, Calif., where he blocked for Josh Rosen. Fast-forward a few years later. Mama started on the offensive line at USC and saw Sam Darnold come through and quickly shoot up the depth chart.
The verdict? Mama likes them both and admits they are very different from each other.
Darnold, Mama said, is “a real humble kid, doesn’t like all the accolades and stuff. I know he’s probably going through this like ‘Man, I just want to be on a team.’ ’’
Rosen, however, is not described as a “real humble kid’’ by his former high school teammate.
“Oh yeah, he’s definitely different,’’ Mama said. “He speaks his mind and sometimes that kinda gets him in trouble, as we’ve seen. He’s his own person and he’s gonna stay true to that, he’s not gonna change for anybody. That’s why I like him. He comes into work and he’s gonna get the job done.’’
One rap on Rosen is he was not popular with his teammates.
“People change in college so I don’t really know,’’ said Mama, who spent most of last season on the Chiefs’ practice squad before the Giants signed him Dec. 12. “I liked him in high school. You can tell he’s definitely a different guy and that reflects what happened in his college career.’’
Mama won a sectional and state championship with Rosen and dismisses talk Rosen does not love football.
“Just look at the film,’’ he said. “He comes into work and he wants to win. He’s not the type of guy that’s gonna sit down and take a loss. I feel if you watch him play he proves he loves the game and he loves to win.’’
Mama was ahead of Darnold at USC and had an early inkling something was brewing with him.
“He was on scout team and he was doing a number on our firstteam defense, that’s how we knew he was gonna be something special as a freshman, doing the things he did,’’ Mama said. “You’d hear the defensive guys talking about him coming out of the locker room and coming off the field, saying ‘This kid’s gonna be special.’ Then seeing him come up my junior year was pretty awesome. Pretty cool to see him come through and prove he deserved to be a USC quarterback.
“He’s one of those guys who are really dynamic. He’s done a lot of things I’ve never seen before. Throwing into triple coverage, he just slings it out there and gets it in the perfect spot. Making plays with his feet, thinking it’s gonna be a sack, the play is over and he just extends it. He’s like a magician, almost.’’
Darnold went to the Jets at No. 3 in Thursday night’s first round of the draft, while Rosen fell to the Cardinals, who traded up to No. 10 to grab him.
“I feel they’re both really good quarterbacks,’’ Mama said. “I feel the whole quarterback [class] is really something special, they all have different tools and different attributes for the NFL.’’