8 Questions With Saquon Barkley On Jalen Ramsey, Le'Veon Bell's Holdout And the Brown's Lack of Pre-Draft Interest

This interview was coordinated by Call of Duty.

Here are eight questions with New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who discussed his trash talk with and respect for Jalen Ramsey, Le'Veon Bell’s holdout and the Cleveland Brown’s surprising lack of pre-draft interest.

1. You’re known almost exclusively for your strengths. What are your weaknesses?

“Just continuing to grow in the game. Understanding when to take the 2. Understanding when to bounce it. Understanding when to try to dance a little more. Understanding when to use power. I wouldn’t say that’s a flaw. I would say that’s something that I could continue to grow on. You could point to every part of my game — I could continue to grow. I’m only 21 years old. This is my first game in the NFL, and I still have so much room to grow and so much to learn. I think that’s the way you get better. Surround yourself with the right people. Continue to challenge myself and want to be great. And I think the sky’s the limit. And I feel like the sky’s the limit for the team in general. We have a lot of weapons.”

2. What did you and Jalen Ramsey say to each other between the whistles on Sunday?

“It wasn’t interesting at all. Just two competitors getting fired up and I respect Jalen, Jalen’s game and his competitive nature. I love that he’s a trash talker, especially at that position. You’ve got to be very confident. It’s all fun and love, just two competitors going at it. Nothing crazy was said.”

3. What do you think about Le’Veon Bell’s contract situation?

“Usually I would just run away from this question, but I feel strongly about Le’Veon. Le’Veon is a great, great player — if not one of the best players in the league. Obviously, he’s very talented. You can use him in so many different areas of the game. I think that he should get paid. But I really have no control over that. That’s more of a situation that they have to figure out over there at the Steelers. All I can do is stay focused on the Giants and stay focused on continuing to get better. I just wish the best for Le’Veon.”

4. What other teams in the top 10 picks of the NFL draft showed interest in you?

“I never really got interest from the Browns to be completely honest. There’s some teams that won’t talk to you, but they know everything about you. I’ve met with a lot of teams. I did meet with the Giants. They liked me a lot. I knew that 49ers liked me a lot. There were some other teams.”

5. Did you know the Giants were going to draft you?

“No, that’s what made the draft so special for me. Obviously, there were so many other things, just being there in general. Having my family around me. But I had no idea, no clue what was going on. Draft day is so unpredictable. There could be trades. Team could pass on you. You could get drafted and then get traded. You never know, so I truly did not know I was getting drafted by the Giants until I got that phone call, and saw that New Jersey area code come up on my phone. I remember being on the phone saying, ‘Thank you guys so much for the opportunity. I’ll prove you guys right that you made the right choice.'”

6. Has anything surprised you about the NFL?

“A lot of people say speed. But to me, it’s not the speed. If you run a 4.3 [40-yard dash], you run a 4.3. If you run a 4.4, you run a 4.4. That’s not going to change. But you don’t know what to do with your speed. Understanding your system. Understanding your scheme. Understanding your assignments, where you’ve got to be. … There’s also so much more time on your hands that you can put towards football, towards your job and your profession. So everyone is just one step ahead because there’s so much more time. In college, you have class, you have study hall, you have homework, you’ve got essays to write and assignments to do. Now, when you come home, you’ve got film to watch.”

7. What’s it like being a superstar in the city of New York, your hometown?

“A lot more people recognize your face in this market and in this media climate, so you’ve just got to be smart. You’ve got to be smart with the right moves and surround yourself with the right people. … You’ve got to enjoy it while being smart and being aware of your surroundings and continue to just love life.”

8. Did anything weird or funny happen during the pre-draft process?

“Nothing really crazy. … I kind of went out of my way to talk to coaches, even if they weren’t picking high, even if there probably wasn’t a reasonable chance I would be drafted by them. You never know, just building relationships. One day, that coach could be a head coach somewhere. One day, that coach could be your coach. That’s just the way the business is. A lot of coaches were like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re not going to be there when we’re on the board.’ So I kinda wondered, ‘What’s the point of doing this interview.’ But I just kept that mindset above my head: you just never know. I didn’t know where I was going to be drafted. I knew where I was projected to be drafted, but nothing was guaranteed.”