Accorsi: Eli has 2 years left
Saquon Barkley’s Roc Nation representatives reportedly want him to play for the Giants over Cleveland so badly that Barkley’s manager “implored him to pull an Eli Manning and demand that the Browns not draft him,” according to a Sports Illustrated report.
Barkley’s agent, Kim Miale, denied SI’s assertion that Roc Nation has tried to steer the Penn State running back away from John Dorsey’s Browns at the No. 1 overall pick. But that did little to quell the Barkley-to-the-Giants-atNo. 2 hype that revved into overdrive on a busy Wednesday.
“(Barkley’s) Roc Nation handlers … don’t want him to be taken No. 1,” the SI article read. “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.”
Miale, Barkley’s agent, responded via Cleveland.com: “As Saquon’s (agent), I can say on behalf of our entire team that we would be thrilled for Saquon to go to whichever team drafts him. We know he will be a resounding success for ERNIE ACCORSI believes Eli Manning can play “winning, championship football” for at least two more years, and the ex-Giants GM also feels new boss Dave Gettleman will have this team turned around quicker than many believe.
Accorsi, addressing a full house at Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant in Midtown Tuesday night during an NFL Draft roundtable with ex-Newsers Gary Myers and Rich Cimini, said he thinks Manning has several years of competitive football remaining.
“I wouldn’t want to put an endline on him, but I do agree with them that he can play winning, championship football for two years,” said Accorsi, who famously swung the 2004 draft day trade to bring Manning to New York. “Now, it may be more. I’m not saying that he can’t do more. But I don’t think there’s any question: What I saw last year in the Philadelphia game with what he had to play with, I definitely think he could still take a team to a title. I mean, obviously he has to be surrounded with a pretty good team. But I do.”
Accorsi, who consulted on John Mara’s and Steve Tisch’s hiring of Gettleman in December, would not discuss any specifics of the monumental upcoming draft for the organization. He isn’t scouting these players like he did when he was in the boss’ chair and refused to speculate at all on what Gettleman might do.
But Accorsi did express confidence in Gettleman’s knowledge of how to build a roster, including the prioritization of “impact positions,” such as the offensive and defensive lines and the running game.
Prospects Saquon Barkley (Penn State RB), Bradley Chubb (N.C. State DE) and Quenton Nelson (Notre Dame OG), of course, can address those respective needs.
“I don’t think it’s gonna take that long (for Gettleman to get the Giants competitive again). I think there’s some talent there,” Accorsi said. “They’ve got to rush the passer. They have to protect Eli. And obviously the offensive line’s gotta run block. They have receivers — the tight end’s gonna be a terrific receiver, they’ve got tremendous wide receivers. They have good running backs and — who knows? — they may get another one. And if they can rush the passer and protect Eli, I think they have a chance to be good rather quickly.”
Now it’s just a question of what Gettleman does in his first draft as Giants GM.
“If you’re gonna build a team the players you pick better be at the impact positions,” Accorsi said. “And I think Dave understands that. Because look, he rebuilt that Carolina team quickly. And then he had that wipeout where he lost all his wide receivers and he went into training camp three years ago without a receiver that had caught a pass in the National Football League, and in two years he’s in the Super Bowl. He knows how to build a team.”