Has Saquon Barkley lifted himself into the top draft spot?

INDIANAPOLIS — Saquon Barkley may have been too good for the Giants’ liking at the NFL Combine. After a historic two days of physical testing and a grand slam in the interviews, any hopes the Giants had of the Penn State running back falling to them at No. 2 in the upcoming draft may have evaporated. Not even the Browns are inept enough to pass on him, right?

“Given his character, leadership skills and production, it is quite possible Barkley leaves Indianapolis as the consensus No. 1 player in the 2018 draft class,” former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks said.

Barkley said he wanted to dominate the combine. Mission accomplished.

He put forth one of the most impressive and well-rounded on-field performances in the history of the event. Consider this rundown, compiled by the NFL: Barkley had more reps on the bench press (29) than Joe Thomas (28), was faster than Devin Hester in the 40-yard dash (4.40 seconds to 4.43), was quicker than DeSean Jackson in his 10-yard split time (1.54 seconds to 1.55), and jumped higher than Julio Jones (41 inches in the vertical to 38.5). That he did all of that at 233 pounds makes it even more impressive.

There was only one player with 25 or more reps in the bench press and a vertical of 40 or more inches in 2017: defensive end Myles Garrett, who went No. 1 in the draft to Cleveland a year ago.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.