Giants at proverbial fork in the road — which path will they choose?

It is becoming increasingly obvious that there is no broad consensus about what the New York Giants should do with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL That applies to whether they should keep or trade it, just as much as it does to who they should pick if they do keep it.

We see it in mock drafts. We see it when we read analysts around the Internet, or listen to sports talk radio. We see it in the comments here.

I am on record as having said that I believe the best two choices for the Giants would be to either pick a quarterback, or trade down and get the biggest pile of draft picks they can acquire.

I am not going to back off of that stance. That said, though, I can certainly understand the love for Saquon Barkley — he’s a special talent. GM Dave Gettleman has said that if you are picking No. 2 you want a player you can picture wearing a gold Hall of Fame jacket. If the Giants think Barkley, Quenton Nelson or Bradley Chubb is that guy who are we to argue?

Here is the thing. Using the pick on a guy you believe can become a 10-year quarterback you can win Super Bowls with isn’t wrong. Taking one of Barkley/Chubb/Nelson isn’t wrong. Trading down and acquiring a motherload of early-round picks isn’t wrong. There are good arguments for each, and there is more than one way to improve a football team that has missed the playoffs five of the past six seasons.

In my view, there is only one “wrong” thing to do at No. 2. That would be to have the quarterback who is at the top of your draft board there for the taking, and pass on the opportunity. If you don’t use the second pick on a quarterback, it has to be simply because you don’t believe the heir to Eli Manning is available to you at that spot.

Looking back

With the Giants continuing to make news in free agency and the trade market, and the draft now about a month away, there is a lot going on. Rather than revisit or find a new way to spin the opinion and analysis we have already offered this week I thought I would just review some of my favorite BBV posts of the week.

• When it comes to my own work, perhaps my favorite piece all week was the Jason Pierre-Paul retrospective. I’m still conflicted about JPP’s time with the Giants.
• You really need to take the time to read the in-depth pieces Chris is putting together on quarterbacks in the draft class. The latest was on Mason Rudolph.
• Scott Wright’s provocative take on what the Giants will do with the No. 2 pick is worth a look.
• Dan looked at how the JPP trade will shape the Giants’ defense.
• We debated the value of taking a running back second overall.