Daniel Jones Over Saquon Barkley and Other Notable Sports Decisions

While out to coffee with my dad this morning we were talking about how the Giants picked Daniel Jones over Saquon Barkley. Let’s discuss.

We both agreed that this was a bad choice by the Giants front office. Barkley is a generational talent. He scored three TDs on the opening weekend. He is a good pass catcher out of the backfield, can return kicks and is hard to tackle and has some good open field speed. Daniel Jones is Daniel Jones. He threw two pick 6's last weekend. He has thrown more pick 6's than long TD passes since signing his massive deal. The Vikings defense said that they "started to feel bad" for him during the last game. He is one of the worst starting QB's in the NFL. His contract is rough, and this decision is going to lead to a bunch of people looking for a new job next season.

This conversation had me thinking after coffee. I was out for a run and I started to think more and more about these decisions by front offices. Both good and bad choices came to mind. The bad choices are much more provocative, but the good ones can be beneficial. One of the good ones I thought of was the Denver Nuggets picking Nikola Jokic over Jusuf Nurkic. I am not a Jokic fan, but the Nuggets have won a title, been a contender every year and Jokic has won three MVP awards. While I like Nurkic's game, he isn't even close to Jokic's level. He has no rings, no MVP awards, no all star game appearances. He has solid numbers, but he is a fringe starter at best. Another good move in choosing a player is the Raptors picking Kyle Lowry to stay after trading for Kawhi Leonard. Someone had to go, and that someone was DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan is going to be much more appreciated when he retires. He is a great mid range scorer, has had a long and personally successful career and is beloved by his teammates on every team he has been a part of. But he had to go to acquire Leonard, and Lowry fits much better with his game. The Raptors got a title out of this. DeRozan is still searching for his first ring. As for football, the Patriots decision to stick with Tom Brady after Drew Bledsoe got hurt will go down in history. Brady and the Patriots had a dynasty and many consider Brady as one of the greatest QB's ever. Bledsoe had a fine career, but it doesn't even come close to what Brady and the Patriots achieved once they moved on from him.

Now for the bad decisions, the Jones over Barkley type decision. The first one that comes to my mind is the Dolphins picking Daunte Caulpepper over Drew Brees. At the time, I thought Culpepper was the correct choice. He had more success at that point, Brees was coming off injury, Culpepper was more mobile and had a better arm. Well, Culpepper flamed out pretty quick and Drew Brees has multiple MVP's and a Super Bowl ring. He is also one of the best to ever play the position. He is going to be a hall of famer for sure. Culpepper, he will unfortunately be a footnote. The Bears decided in the 2017 draft that they had to trade up one spot to take Mitch Trubisky. Some players that went after Trubisky include Christian McCaffery, Jamal Adams, Evan Engram, Jabrill Peppers, TJ Watt, David Njoku, oh yeah, and Patrick Mahomes. Sure, maybe the Bears didn't need some of the other guys due to position. But, they picked Trubisky over Mahomes. That is some Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan stuff right there. Getting back to picking a player over another player, the last one I want to bring up is Kobe Bryant over Shaq. This one may cause division with others. Kobe had a great career post Shaq. That is undeniable. He won MVP awards. He won titles. He was always on the all star team. He is one of the better NBA players we have ever seen. But it took time. Kobe wasn't instantly successful after the Lakers picked him over Shaq. It took time. On the other hand, Shaq won a title immediately. He teamed up with Dwyane Wade in Miami and got a ring that season. Shaq was what the Heat needed, he went there and he won right away. We all remember how Shaq told the world he was better too. Look it up. Shaq was also beloved, for the most part. Kobe was not. His teammates despised him from what I have read. Shaq was fun. Kobe was vigilant. Shaq knew what to do and when to do it. Kobe expected things from people that may not have been able to provide it. I am also a Shaq fan, so that is why I believe the Lakers made the wrong choice. But, I do have to say that both parties benefited from the choice.

Let me know if you all have some that I may have missed out on. I like stuff like this. Send them my way. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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