Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley is a unique player.
The folks over at FOX Sports ranked Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley the third-best RB in the NFL.
Barkley trails only Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions and Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons.
"This is how great the 29-year-old Barkley is: He ran for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns last season, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, and he caught 37 passes for 273 yards … and his season was considered a profound disappointment," FOX Sports wrote. "That’s how high he set the bar, especially after he ran for 2,005 yards one year earlier.
"Those days are probably over. The Eagles’ offensive line isn’t what it used to be and that season — in which he totaled 482 touches in the regular season and playoffs — clearly wore Barkley down. He’s still got breakaway speed, though, and moves unlike most backs in the league. He can be a nightmare to drag down in the open field. For all those reasons, most people in the NFL expect a bounce-back season from him, even if he’s very unlikely to ever threaten to break 2,000 rushing yards again."
Barkley had 1,140 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns in 2025. The three-time Pro Bowler put up 2,005 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in his first season with the Eagles in 2024.
Since 2024, Barkley ranks second in 100-plus-yard rushing games (14) behind Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry (17). Barkley helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs in his first season with the Birds.
Philadelphia hired Sean Mannion as its new offensive coordinator for the 2026 season. That means Barkley and Co. are using training camp and preseason to learn the new offense.
Barkley has played for the New York Giants and Eagles. He enters this season with 8,356 rushing yards and 55 rushing touchdowns.
The Eagles won the NFC East last season. However, they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round of the playoffs at home.
It will be fascinating to see how Philadelphia's offense performs under Mannion's play-calling. Barkley looked like the best player in the NFL during the 2024 season. He came back down to earth in 2025 in Kevin Patullo's system.
The Eagles open the 2026 season at home against the Washington Commanders.
