Just two days before he found out which team would be drafting him in the 2018 NFL Draft, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and his girlfriend Anna Congdon welcomed their first child, Jada Clare, on Tuesday
“Words can’t even describe how I feel right now,” Barkley wrote, posting a photo of himself holding Jada Clare in his arms. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Thank God for blessing me with you in my life and into my arms. I pray that I can be the best father to you and help you grow into an amazing woman. I love you so so so much #DaddysLittleGirl Jada Clare Barkley 4.24.18.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Barkley is expected to be one of the top draft picks in Thursday’s opening round of the draft. CBS Sports’ Jason La Confora picked him to go No. 2 overall to the New York Giants hours before the event started.
“If I was doing a mock today I would slot him second overall to the Giants, but I would do so playing a hunch,” La Canfora wrote. “I don’t know that for a fact. I do not believe the Giants are in the quarterback market with this pick … but I wouldn’t rule it out entirely, either. Bradley Chubb would make a lot of sense, too. But if this running back isn’t helping to prop up Eli Manning, then I can’t see him getting by Tampa — with Jacquizz Rodgers currently atop their running back depth chart — under any circumstances. And, again, I don’t anticipate him getting beyond 2, much less the Browns at 4 (if they kept the pick and Chubb was gone).”
However, not everyone is convinced about Barkley’s ability.
“Should the Giants draft Barkley at No. 2? I don’t think it’s a great idea,” ESPN reporter Bill Barnwell wrote on Thursday. That opinion has nothing to do with Barkley’s considerable talent. I’m just not sure that the economics of the NFL and the running back market make it a smart decision to use the second overall pick on any rusher.
Barkley racked up 3,843 rushing yards, 1,195 receiving yards and 51 touchdowns throughout his three-year collegiate career.
This year’s draft also boasts an impressive crop of quarterbacks, including USC’s Sam Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson.
The opening round of the 2018 Draft takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Photo: Instagram/@annacongdon
