Top NFL draft pick's manager wants him to pull an Eli Manning - report
Days before the 2004 draft, quarterback Eli Manning’s agent told the San Diego Chargers that he would sit out the season if they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick. He ended up on the New York Giants and led the team to two Super Bowl championships.
Fourteen years later, the top-rated player in the upcoming NFL draft reportedly is being urged to follow Manning’s lead.
Running back Saquon Barkley’s manager has pleaded with the former Penn State star to tell the Cleveland Browns, who hold the top pick, that he won’t play for them, according to a report Wednesday by Sports Illustrated’s Ben Baskin.
In a lengthy profile in advance of the draft, Baskin wrote that Barkley’s agency wants him to go second overall to the Giants.
“His Roc Nation handlers … don’t want him to be taken No. 1,” Baskin wrote. “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.”
However, the running back “never considered the option,” according to Baskin.
“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,” the SI reporter wrote. “And of course he’s heard countless people tell him that if he ends up in Cleveland, his career will be ruined. …
“He’s happy to take that risk, though. For the last few weeks he has told close friends about a vision he has. He believes that if he brings a championship to the Land, as LeBron [James] did, he’ll be hailed as the best athlete of his generation and have a statue built in his honor.”
Roc Nation disputed Baskin’s report that it had urged 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,” his agent, Kim Miale, told Cleveland.com via text Wednesday. “We know he will be a resounding success for any team fortunate enough to select him.”
In response, SI said it stands by its report.
Barkley might end up on the Browns even if he isn’t taken first. Cleveland also has the fourth overall pick, and if it takes a quarterback with its No. 1 selection, as many expect, and the Giants and Jets do the same at No. 2 and 3, respectively, the running back could fall into the Browns’ lap.
Manning’s draft day didn’t start out as he hoped. The Chargers disregarded his demand and selected him with the first pick, while the Giants used No. 4 overall to take another quarterback, Philip Rivers.
But New York soon traded for him, giving up Rivers and draft picks.
Manning got an opportunity to play midway through his rookie year — and he went on to start every game for the Giants until coach Ben McAdoo decided to bench him late last year.
The 2018 NFL draft begins April 26.
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