Saquon Barkley never will hurdle over the top of my head.

He never will spin out of my reach as I fall flat on my face.

But the Giants running back can embarrass me on camera.

Check that. He did embarrass me on camera.

In order to truly feel what it’s like to be an opposing tackler on Barkley’s growing list of highlight-reel carnage and peek inside the mind of one of the NFL’s savviest players, I challenged him 1-on-1 in one of his best skills.

A test of strength? My idea of quads is two double cheeseburgers.

A footrace? Only if he swaps out his Nikes for cinder blocks.

But strategic thinking? We’re equals.

Break out the Connect Four! I once took the LSAT, but Barkley has spent countless hours playing this game on his cell phone.

“When I first started, I played on easy (level). Killed it,” Barkley said. “Medium. Killed it. Hard. Killed it. Then you go to expert and find ways to continue to beat expert because you are going against a computer."

This is a game 6-year-olds play to kill time at camp. I’ve seen cornhole, ping-pong, Pop-a-Shot, a small hockey goal and spades in NFL locker rooms. Connect Four is unusual, but not for Barkley.

A lawn-game-sized edition of Connect Four appeared in the Giants locker room during Barkley’s rookie season, and he relished being the best. The bigger the audience, the more he thrived. And the more trash talk flew.

It begs the question: Why the heck is a 22-year-old NFL superstar with unlimited connections addicted to any board game, let alone one around since 1974?

There supposedly are 4.5 trillion ways to fill the seven-column, six-row grid with chips in two different colors, and 2 trillion ways to win. The objective is to get four consecutively — either horizontally, vertically or diagonally — by thinking ahead and setting up your opponent.

“It’s kind of the same thing with running back, I guess you could say,” Barkley says. “You are reading the line of scrimmage, and reading defenders, and trying to get them to commit to go one way and you go the other way. You are playing with the defense to execute as much as you can.”

Gulp! Maybe this was a bad idea. Any advice?

“Saquon is just as talented at Connect Four as he is on the field,” Giants wide receiver Russell Shepard warns.

'You already lost’

“Don’t go there!”

We’re one minute into our matchup on the patio overlooking the Giants practice field and Barkley already has diagnosed me as an opponent to coach, not fear.

He’s right, of course.

When’s the last time you played Connect Four? For me, it had been … two days.

Wait, two days?

Well, it had been about 25 years but, in preparation for our showdown, my buddy and I went to a nearby bar for practice rounds. It’s just working smarter when you can expense drinks and fajitas as job research.

Turns out Giants coach Pat Shurmur is behind bringing Connect Four into the locker room.

“We talked about a competitive, safe thing,” Shurmur said. “Connect Four involves strategy, and it’s two guys competing. I think that’s always a good thing.”

On his end, Barkley got a haircut in preparation to face me. I assume the fresh look and decision to keep me waiting are a cheap intimidation tactic like icing a placekicker — completely unrelated to the NFL 100th season party on his busy schedule.

But I’m not to be rattled. Sure, I lost twice to Giants intern Tristan Vitale during warm-ups, but confidence is high after destroying Jake The Intern.

“Tristan is like a math wiz,” Jake assures me.

The chips are sliding to the bottom of the board now. Clink! Clink! Clink!

Going first is a huge advantage in Connect Four, and Barkley doesn’t afford this novice any leg up.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has conquered Connect Four. He showed NJ Advance Media's Ryan Dunleavy how he thinks a few moves ahead of his opponent, just like on the NFL field.Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

“My strategy is to get three in a row before you get three in a row,” Barkley says. “Even though the objective is to get four in a row, I try to set my way up to get three in a row multiple ways no matter what.”

Only seven chips are in the board, my fingers are sweating and Barkley is warning me not to make a mistake. He foresees my next two moves and his two corresponding moves.

It’s no wonder he wanted to learn chess from Hall of Famer Curtis Martin.

“You already lost, to be honest,” Barkley says. “I would go here. You have to block me. I go there. You have to block me. I go there and I win.”

What the heck just happened?

Trash-talking rivalries

As a rookie, Barkley ran circles around all 11 Eagles defenders on a screen pass, jumped over an unsuspecting safety and spun to buckle the knees of All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly.

Barkley is going through NFL defenses for the second (sometimes third) time now. So, he must juke where he spun, spin where he hurdled and hurdle where he cut.

“Those are the little things that you try to key in for and definitely take note of,” Barkley says, “and just try to get any little head start that you can when you come into the game to prepare you to play at a high level.”

The talk around the Giants during Barkley’s first season was not to half-heartedly challenge the first-round draft pick: He hates losing in anything. When veteran Golden Tate signed with the Giants in March, he issued a similar Connect Four challenge.

“It didn’t go too well for him,” Barkley says politely.

If you think there is hooting and hollering on a missed tackle, amplify it when the audience sees the board clearer than you. That sinking feeling of dropping a chip only to realize Barkley already has three in a row elsewhere.

“Saquon is over-the-top competitive, but it’s not over the top," Tate said. "Whatever you challenge him to, he’s like, ‘Let’s go do it right now.’ He believes he can beat you in whatever it is.”

Barkley and his Penn State roommates used to host a Game Night at their house.

“But Connect Four came out of nowhere and he says he is the best,” said Grant Haley, Barkley’s college and Giants teammate. “We’ll just be riding in the car and he’ll be playing on expert on his phone. Must be a childhood thing."

Barkley’s three biggest Connect Four rivalries are against former Penn State teammate Mark Allen, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffrey. Barkley lost to McCaffrey twice before they showed up at the same Nike event.

“He didn’t know I was waiting for this moment for a very long time,” Barkley says. "I caught him by surprise. I’m up now 3-2 in the series.”

The reverse happened with Jones.

“I beat him real bad in the beginning,” Barkley said. “When we came back to camp, he was somehow, some way good at this game.”

The answer? Jones downloaded the app and researched strategy.

“I felt like I should have some sort of idea how to play,” Jones said. “Some of the strategy and trying to out-think your opponent carries over to football, but I think competitiveness is the biggest thing.”

Our rematch

No more Mr. Nice Guy. I demand to go first and apply pressure in our rematch.

Middle is the obvious first move. And I already know his strategy — three in a row — because he let his guard down.

If I win?

“I’d be angry,” Barkley says as the chips are flying. “You are set up pretty good — if you make the right couple moves.”

I’m reminded of something Barkley said about competing against Giants teammate Sterling Shepard in video games and races: “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.”

I can’t levy such an accusation here. Not when Barkley actually takes one of my chips out of the board and gives me a do-over to extend the game. I’m rushing my moves, the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year says, even though he is the one with a car service to catch.

A compliment — “That’s a good move!” — sparks an adrenaline rush. I notice Giants great Carl Banks is watching us from afar.

The crash back to reality comes when someone shouts, “Saquon, I believe in you!” He barley flinches: “I already got him twice.”

Now I know how Evan Engram feels. The Giants tight end held out on the Connect Four craze until the spring and now is too far behind the curve.

“I’m going to catch him slipping one day and he is not going to see it coming,” Engram said. “He’s played so much that he knows what moves to do to set up things. There’s nowhere to go.”

Only six empty slots remain. It’s anyone’s game now. Or so I think.

“Now think! Where do you want to go?” Barkley asks me. “You probably think you can go either way. "

Spoiler: I can’t. He wins again on the final chip.

Two weeks after our two games, Dallas Cowboys safety Jeff Heath is on the bench telling teammates about the breakaway speed Barkley showed on a 59-yard run.

“I didn’t even like … ,” a short-of-breath Heath said with awe in his eyes, “I didn’t even like get a chance to get close to him.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself. Barkley even rips away my solace after our handshake: He isn’t going home to practice his Connect Four.

“I’m more focused on trying to be one of the best ping-pong players on the team right now,” Barkley said. ‘It bothers me that I’m not.”

I can take a hint: Where’s my old paddle?

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.