(Photo: Big Blue View)
The Running Back market. Let’s discuss it, shall we? It’s definitely scarce at this point and not what it was years ago for obvious reasons. You get two or three quality years and then, they crash meaning their bodies give out on them and their value diminishes after that. This is exactly why they haven’t received long-term deals and I can’t say I blame teams for not wanting to extend them. Last season, three star Running Backs received the franchise tag and that’s Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley. The New York Giants drafted Saquon with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Penn State where he became a superstar in the college football world. After the Giants announced a few weeks ago they wouldn’t be offering the Running Back a contract, he became a free agent. Saquon will still be playing in the NFC East, but this time, as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
When he is healthy, there’s no doubt he is one of the best at his position. Saquon makes defenses work and I say that because he’s able to beat you in a variety of ways. Run through a defender? Check. Hurdle and jump over a guy? Check. Spin away from you? Check. Stiff arm? Check. Place his foot in the ground, then cut on the dime? Check that too! You must truly pick your poison with him because he will use what’s in his arsenal to get by you, What’s always stood out to me about Saquon is the ability to test all the gaps and I will explain what I mean. He can make the jump cut from the a gap all the way to the c gap and shows his ability to breeze by a defender with making it look as if he’s going one way and he uses his lateral quickness to shift to the other side of the field. Saqoun has made comparisons to one of the greatest ever to play the position and that’s Barry Sanders who happens to be a Hall of Famer. I also see a little bit of Adrian Peterson in his game with the power he can run with as Saquon has no issues whatsoever lowering that shoulder and trucking through someone. This is a home run threat every time he touches the rock as he can take the ball the distance to the endzone no matter where the ball maybe lined up. Saquon is also capable of catching the ball out of the backfield and poses as a threat even as a receiver. He’s more than capable of being a versatile threat which makes him more of a headache for a defense. When Saquon is locked in and he’s in his zone, he’s tough to limit as he will continue to get his carries. This is one of the toughest guys to tackle due to his lower body strength. Even when you think you have him wrapped up, he still finds a way to power through and move, even with defenders draped all over him.
I think this is a great situation for Saquon and the Eagles. In Philly, the offense won’t be built around him as he will be on the field with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. This will also alleviate a lot of pressure off Jalen Hurts and he can focus simply on Quarterbacking instead of being a consistent runner. Saquon joins a list of players who have been released from one team only to jump to another in the same division. Terrell Owens did this in 2006 when he was released from the Eagles and went to play for the Dallas Cowboys, Brett Favre finished his career with the Minnesota Vikings after spending 16 years as a member of the Green Bay Packers and Richard Sherman who was a key member of the Legion of Boom defenses in Seattle signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2019. This is common for players to sign with teams in this division. They look at it as “you get to see me two times a year”.
