Many followers of the NFL have an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality when it comes to players. Stars who tend to get injured or underproduce usually fall off the national radar.
Such is not the case for New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. Many are still smitten by his unlimited potential after being hobbled by injuries the past two seasons.
In an article outlining ‘superlatives’ for NFL backs heading into this season, Zach Tantillo of Pro Football Focus reminds us of how special Barkley can be.
After naming his candidates for power (Tennessee’s Derrick Henry), receiving (Christian McCaffrey of Carolina) and elusiveness (Cleveland’s Nick Chubb), Tantillo lists Barkley as his “home-run hitter.”
The old saying “go big or go home” does not register with Barkley’s running style. It can better be described as “go big or go big.”
Barkley has been the definition of a home-run threat since his days at Penn State. During his three college seasons, he racked up 67 rushes of 15-plus yards (second in the nation). A similar trend continued once he entered the NFL. In his lone full season of action, Barkley picked up 706 of his 1,307 rushing yards on 15-plus-yard runs — the highest rate in the league.
Barkley ranked in the top five again in 2019, with over one-third of his yardage coming from 15-plus-yard runs. Unfortunately, a torn ACL in Week 2 of 2020 ended his campaign after only 19 carries. Expect a fully healthy, bounce-back 2021 season with him resuming his highlight-reel tendencies.
Giants fans would love nothing more than see Barkley return to his 2018 from when he led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage. At the moment however, the Giants are doing everything in their power to ensure that the former Penn State star is 100 percent healthy before he takes the field this fall.
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