Saquon Barkley was once drafted second overall by the New York Giants for a reason. 

Pegged by many as the best running back prospect in generations, he was, and is, as complete as they come on the football field. 

But that skillset, that build, those dynamic traits…They all may be coming back to haunt him in his contract negotiation:

In his weekly column for Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer of the MMQB (Monday Morning Quarterback) opened his piece with a clear message for not only Saquon but all the backs on the market:

Take the money, Saquon, Josh and Tony. And I’m not saying you have to do it now. But between now and July 17 (the deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals), Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard should figure out just how far the Giants, Raiders and Cowboys are willing to go financially, and then clean all that money off the table.-Albert Breer

And while that's likely the exact game of push and pull that the Giants brass and Barkley's representation are playing, Breer's point is a deeper one when you go beyond the surface. 

The landscape of the NFL has flipped on its head. It used to be the every-down, big-bodied back was the staple of the offense, with teams leveraging highly valuable draft capital to find their workhorse. 

But as Giants Super Bowl-winning HC Bill Parcells once said regarding the NFL Draft:

"We can only take what they give us."

And what high schools and colleges are giving the league are spread offenses with their best athletes now on the perimeter, or even at the quarterback position, meaning the once highly touted tailback is now a five-star receiver or first-round signal caller. 

It wasn’t that long ago that any high school powerhouse’s best athlete would be its starting tailback. That’s just not where we are anymore—and even in cases where that’s still true (Parsons was one), those athletes are often projected to other positions in college. Which, in the end, is how the Barkleys and Elliotts of the world become so far and few between.-Breer

And because the Saquons or Zekes of the world don't enter the league as much as they used to, the market has swayed that way. The franchise tag number proves as much, with the current figure slated at $10.1 million, or the cheapest of any offensive player outside of kicker.

That means front offices have no issue placing the tag on a back and holding firm in negotiations that top out at around three-four years and $30 million in guarantees, a line only crossed by Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey. 

So no matter how great Barkley has been, and how much the 26-year-old has left in the tank, the NFL has shown a willingness to adapt. Meaning that even special athletes like Barkley are being hung out to dry. 

Giants winners and losers from OTAs, minicamp

See the full list of who showed out, and who has more to prove

For Breer's full column, click here. 

Featured image via: © Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports