SAQUON LOOKS READY FOR ANOTHER RUN AT GREATNESS

Brian Baldinger - On the Eagles

Saquon Barkley signed with the Eagles on March 13, 2024. At the time of the signing I said, "Saquon has never played behind an offensive line like the Philadelphia Eagles.

He will get runways like he has never seen before. As a result he should have his most prosperous season ever." And indeed, he did.

In 20 starts he set every franchise record there was, including 436 carries for a whopping 2504 yards in 20 starts and a Super Bowl Victory.

He also had 46 receptions for another 320 yards. In total he had 482 touches for 2, 824 total yards.

It's almost ridiculous to think that any of those numbers can be improved upon, except that we are talking about Saquon. A man of rare talent and skills…and he is only 28 years old.

And the Birds are bringing back 10 of the 11 starters from a year ago including 4 of his starting 5 offensive lineman.

But 482 touches is an enormous load of work that wears down a body even as built up as Saquon's is.

The punishment can sometimes take months to return to feeling normal. For many accomplished running backs the workload of 400-plus touches in one season broke the likes of Cutis Martin, Deuce McAllister, Shaun Alexander, and Jamal Anderson.

None of the aforementioned, amongst others, ever returned to having another good season after a workload of 400-plus touches. Can Saquon do it after 482 touches?

I don’t know the answer to this question on June 17th, as I sit here and write my thoughts about what is reasonable to expect.

A year ago, Christian McCaffrey had an off season where he had inflammation in both of his heels preventing him from doing any kind of off season training.

In 2023 McCaffrey, Run CMC led the league in rushing and counting his total touches all the way to a Super Bowl repeat, he had 417 total touches.

He never recovered last off season. The workload in 2023 wore his body down so much that he was held to 50 rushes in a handful of games last season.

None of the ailments that bothered McCaffrey last offseason has been an issue for Saquon this off-season.

Eagles record-breaking, All Pro running back show up to offseason practices in outstanding shape. Photo by Terence Lewis.    

In fact, I saw him at an OTA a few weeks back and he looked as fresh as can be running routes and taking handoffs. When I spoke to him for a NFL NETWORK interview last week, he was playing a lot of golf and felt very refreshed.

Golf is his go-to hobby when not engaged in football or daddy duties.

Prior to this season he had suffered a variety of serious injuries including knee ligaments and high ankle sprain which for any running back is always in the back of their minds

But let’s just say that Saquon is different.

More like LaDainian Tomlinson than any of the other running backs in this story thus far.

Saquon Barkley looked as fresh as ever at Eagles OTAs and minicamp. Photo by Terence Lewis. 

The Hall of Famer LT had over 400-plus touches in eight straight seasons in his career.

The workload never set him back. He was built for it.

Saquon is also a very cerebral back. Prior to the Birds Week three game in New Orleans last season, I spoke with Saquon on the field before the game.

In his first two outings he had 204 yards on 46 runs, a fairly pedestrian 4.4 yards per carry.

He told me that he had some big runs in him but he was not pressing the safety hard enough before he bounced to the sidelines where his speed could churn out the yards. 

And then in the fourth quarter, with the Birds being shutout, he split Landon Dickerson and Jordan Mailata off the left side and pressed the safety, Tyran Mathieu, hard before he hit his jets on his way to a 65-yard TD run.

He would score all 15 points in the Eagles win, all in the fourth quarter. It was also his first of seven TD's scored by Saquon of 60 yards or more. An NFL record.

He has more records to set in Philly, although under new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, I think it will be wise to share more of the load with Saquon to give him a chance to stay fresh and healthy throughout the season.

I believe in Saquon, You should too. Last year’s stats were amazing, maybe never to be duplicated.

He just needs to help the Birds get back to the postseason healthy.

If so, he has everything it takes to put this team on his back for another postseason run. *