Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley has dropped almost 50 spots in the new player ranking from ESPN.
After being bounced early in the playoffs last year, the Philadelphia Eagles enter the 2026 season ready to prove themselves again.
The Eagles weren't able to repeat as Super Bowl champions, with the group seeing all sorts of issues take place a year ago. But this year, there seems to be a lot of optimism around the team, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts returns, alongside star running back Saquon Barkley, who will be looking for a bounce-back year. In his first year with the Eagles, Barkley completely took off, rushing for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns.
But last season, Barkley regressed a little bit, gaining 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns. While a decline was expected, it was fairly drastic for Barkley.
This has led him to drop pretty heavily in the new preseason Top-100 Player Rankings from ESPN. Entering 2025, Barkley was ranked as the No. 17 player, and now, this season, he is ranked as the No. 63 player in the league.
However, there are reasons to think that Barkley could take off again in 2026 for the Eagles. ESPN analyst Tim McManus explains.
"But his offensive line is healthier this summer, and he's showing some bounce in practice. The signs are there that Barkley could be among the league's top rushers again this season," McManus wrote.
While an almost 50-spot drop is brutal, Barkley doesn't care about where he is ranked entering the season. All the running back wants to do is help this team win as many games as possible, with the goal being the Super Bowl again.
The Eagles will again feature Barkley as a key contributor to this offensive attack, giving him a chance to duplicate his 2024 success. Sean Mannion comes in as the new offensive coordinator for the Eagles, and his first move should be to build everything around Barkley.
Barkley wasn't the only player on Philadelphia to drop, with Hurts dropping 59 spots in the ranking. Both players will have a lot to prove this coming season, and it could see the Eagles play much better on the field.
All in all, this drop in the rankings is tough to see, but Barkley can easily turn things around this year. The entire Eagles team is expected to be better this year, with Barkley being one of the main players to get back to form.
