New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is a first ballot Hall of Famer according to veteran ESPN reporter and Pro Football Hall of Fame voter Sal Paolantonio.
Paolantonio, a Long Island native who has worked mainly in the Philadelphia sports sphere, appeared on Giants Huddle podcast this week to discuss the state of the Giants and revealed his take on the Giants’ longtime starting quarterback.
“I’ve always been great admirer of Eli Manning. People always ask me who’s my favorite player to interview. It’s always Eli. Eli’s No. 1 for me. Always accessible, always willing to take on the tough questions. A real mensch,” Paolantonio said.
“I think it’s a really interesting time for the team and Eli Manning. I’m a voter of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the selection committee, one of the 46 voters and Eli’s got my vote. Eli’s got my vote first ballot for the Hall of Fame.
“He won two Super Bowls the way he did was extremely tough, but time expires on different players and he needs to get pushed and the quarterback position on the team needs to get pushed. It will interesting to see if Daniel Jones can push him.”
Another topic Paolantonio spoke on was the trade that sent star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and linebacker Olivier Vernon to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Jabril Peppers and two draft choices (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence and linebacker Oshane Ximines).
“I thought it was addition by subtraction,” Paolantonio said, citing that Beckham had missed 16 of the Giants’ last 32 games and feels the Giants got players in return that will help them on both sides of the football.
That’s the adult way to look at it and the way in which many Giants beat writers and fans view the trade. The Giants were not winning with Beckham and Vernon, and were paying a premium price to watch them both miss games.
