Giants Land Saquon Barkley Replacement in CBS Sports' 2023 NFL Redraft

If the Giants could go back and redraft last year's haul, CBS Sports believes they should have gone in a much different direction in the first round.

Very few mulligans pop up in the NFL, and certainly not with the draft. But that doesn't stop some from doing redraft exercises, and in one such redraft, as done by CBS Sports columnist Chris Trapasso, the New York Giants' first-round pick would have looked very different in hindsight.

To recap, the Giants traded up one spot to land cornerback Deonte Banks with the 24th overall pick. Banks has been a solid contributor to the Giants' defense and is projected to be CB1 in 2024 after his impressive rookie campaign.

But in the redraft, Trapasso has the Giants selecting Jahmyr Gibbs, who went to the Detroit Lions with the 12th overall pick.

The selection of Gibbs, Trapasso reasoned, would have given the Giants a succession plan if Saqon Barkley, slated to be an unrestricted free agent next month, moves on.

In his rookie season with the Detroit Lions, Gibbs played in 15 games and rushed for nearly 1,000 yards, even while splitting carries with running back David Montgomery. Gibbs was vital to the Lions' turnaround this season and could've been equally productive with the Giants.

Gibbs was slated to be a late first-round pick in last year's draft. The Lions traded back with the Arizona Cardinals and used the 12th overall pick to select Gibbs.

Had it not been for the Lions' trade with the Cardinals, Gibbs to the Giants might very well been in play, though whether the Giants would have used a first-round draft pick on a running back is another story.

Meanwhile, Barkley has rushed for over 1,000 yards in three of his six seasons with the Giants. He also rushed for over 950 yards this season, nearly notching his fourth 1,000-yard rushing season in six years. He has been the franchise running back he was drafted to be by the Giants. However, he has suffered many injuries over the years, including a torn ACL in 2020.

If he departs, the Giants will almost certainly need depth at the position, as they will only have Eric Gray, Jashaun Corbin, and Gary Brightwell under contract.

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