NFL Analyst Dubs 2020 ‘The Year of Saquon Barkley’; Predicts Giants Playoff Berth

Kyle Brandt dubs 2020 "The Year of Saquon Barkley"

Getty Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants

It’s safe to say the New York Giants have a few fans littered throughout the cast of NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”

First, it was ex-NFL wideout Nate Burleson who predicted not only a 2020 playoff berth for Big Blue but an NFC East title as well. Now, Burleson’s co-host, Kyle Brandt, has upped the ante even further.

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Kyle Brandt Gushes Over ‘Rockstar’ Saquon Barkley

The Giants have had just one winning season over the past seven years, while not winning a single postseason game since their Super Bowl XLVI victory in 2012. However, that hasn’t stopped Brandt from envisioning major success for the G-Men this coming season, as he expects quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley to be the driving forces behind what he predicts to be a playoff run.

“I look at Judge. I like the receivers,” said Brandt on a recent installment of GMFB. “We’re all very encouraged by what Daniel Jones looked like at the end of last year, but listen, we got to talk about the rock star. I will quote the words of Nicole Richie’s dad in ‘say you, Saquon, say it together, naturally.’ That’s my man right there. He’s going to do it all night long.”

“Welcome my friends to the year of Saquon Barkley when he will emerge nine months from now as the best running back on the planet. I have stock in him and guys I don’t know if you’ve noticed, the Dow Jones is up for the year.” Brandt added, “It’s a miracle and if you do not own Saquon stock it might be too late.”


Nate Burleson Praises Giants Pass-Catchers

Burleson agrees with Brandt that both Jones and Barkley will be major factors in his previous prediction of New York capturing their first divisional crown since 2011. However, he sees Big Blue’s pass-catchers, namely their wide receivers, as key catalysts in the Giants and Daniel Jones taking the next step in 2020.

“[Golden] Tate, [Darius] Slayton, Sterling Shepard, those individuals will help Daniel Jones have a big leap,” Burleson said. “It’s not just going to be D.J. out there doing his thing. D.J. needs people to dance when he’s playing the music and his dancers are going to be those wide receivers.”

The Giants’ wide receiver group has been quite the enigmatic topic of discussion in recent weeks. Burleson’s perception of Big Blue’s wideouts certainly has its fair share of backers, including one personnel exec who told ESPN that “a lot of teams will be hard-pressed to match that top three.”

There was also The Ringer’s Danny Kelly who dubbed New York’s pass-catchers amongst the league’s “6 Most Underrated Position Groups.” However, then there’s Pro Football Focus, who sees things on a drastically different level, ranking the group as just the 21st-best receiving corps in the NFL.

The biggest knock on the Giants’ receiving group is clearly the perceived lack of a true No. 1 target. However, if Darius Slayton can build off his stellar rookie performance in which he topped 700-yards receiving and led all first-year pass-catchers in receiving touchdowns with eight, the sky could be the limit for Big Blue’s aerial attack.

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