Saquon Barkley should bring new teammate Bobby Okereke with him for his next contract negotiation with the Giants. 

Barkley’s ability to impact games as a pass-catcher was a major sticking point in the extension talks that broke down and led to him unhappily playing this season on the franchise tag.

The Giants told Barkley that he is not the same caliber of receiver as top-paid running back Christian McCaffrey, sources told The Post. 

Well, Okereke, who has had to cover both players as an inside linebacker, sees it slightly differently, especially now that the Giants are teasing an expanded role for Barkley during training camp. 

“I think Christian McCaffrey is a great route-runner,” Okereke said, “but I think Saquon might be the best.” 

Barkley aired his grievances last month when he said the Giants’ contract offers — the last of which to be rejected was worth $23 million guaranteed in the first two years of a three-year deal — included two comparisons to “downhill runners” not featured in their teams’ passing attack. 

“If that’s what you are telling me and I know what they signed for, what are we really talking about?” Barkley said on “The Money Matters” podcast. “After hearing that, they tell you, ‘This is the type of player you are.’ I’m like, ‘Eh, no. I can catch the ball. I had 91 catches, the rookie record for running back.’ ” 

Most of those receptions in Pat Shurmur’s offense during the 2018 season came out of Eli Manning’s hand, when he was looking for a check-down option under pressure. 

Head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka operated similarly last season, with only three of Barkley’s 73 targets on routes run at least 10 yards down the field, per Pro Football Focus. 

Daboll said “our coaches and players work together really in everything” when asked about soliciting Barkley’s input into the offense similar to the way he has with quarterback Daniel Jones.

Kafka said early in camp that it was “too early to tell” if Barkley would be more of a receiver but “we’re practicing all kinds of things with people at every position.” 

But it appears that the brain trust might be reconsidering because Barkley has been an early read on more passes — returning to a plan that was unveiled in May 2022 but scrapped before the season for reasons that Barkley declined to share on the podcast.

In practice, it often leaves Okereke or safety Xavier McKinney in a mismatch. 

“That guy is one of one: It doesn’t get any better than him,” McKinney said. “Wherever he is on the field — whether he is lined up in the backfield, lined up in the slot, lined up outside, you have to match up and be alert.

“He’s a guy that is going to give people a lot of problems no matter where he is. That is what happens when you have a guy that good, so that’s just another piece we have.” 

The irony in Barkley potentially getting his wish to show that he can be a McCaffrey-type dual threat is that the contract he finally agreed to — one-year, $10.1 million with an additional $909,000 in incentives — pays extra for a would-be career-high 1,350 rushing yards and for 65 receptions.

But increased receptions likely means fewer carries — making it difficult to hit both markers — to manage Barkley’s workload and keep him healthy. 

It’s just another example of a running back in today’s NFL being caught between a rock and a hard place. 

McCaffrey had a 1,000-yard rushing, 1,000-yard receiving season in 2019 before he signed a four-year, $64 million extension.

He averages 8.5 yards per catch for his career to Barkley’s 7.4. 

If Barkley is dominant again this season, the Giants could tag him again for $12.1 million in 2024.

If, instead, Barkley reaches free agency, the next team trying to drive down the market either will argue that he didn’t have a good enough season to get paid top dollar — or that his great season added wear to his body and he can’t be paid like he would have before his latest 300-plus offensive touches. 

“Thinking back to last year when we played him, it was ‘Get on him. Don’t give Saquon any space,’ because of how dynamic and special he is with the ball in his hands” said Okereke, who signed a four-year, $40 million free-agent contract to leave the Colts. “Any time he is on the field, he’s one of the best football players.”