Saquon Barkley Fantasy Football’s Biggest Mystery This Year
Saquon Barkley is a fantasy phenomenon. He came in his rookie season completely dominating the league, even getting compared to Barry Sanders, and those who took the risk on him in the early rounds likely ended up winning their championship. The next superstar running back was seemingly born.
In the last two seasons though, he’s been riddled with injury, inconsistent and stuck in a terrible fantasy football situation. The New York Giants have been awful and specifically their offensive line has stunk. The hope is that with a revamped Giants offensive line, and a healthy body, Barkley is now ready to come back to his old form for fantasy owners.
I’ll be honest, I have not been a fan of Barkley the past couple of years due to his terrible team and injury concerns. I’d have to agree the talent has also seemed questionable at times up till this point, but I think this year he goes out and reminds everyone why he was drafted with the second overall pick in 2018. Not just because it’s a hunch. For a few reasons that are unique about this season, I actually really like drafting Barkley. So much so that I’m comfortable with him as my top running back and absolutely ecstatic if he’s my RB two.
For starters, there’s a new coach in town who’s pretty, pretty good at running an offense. And it just so happens that Brian Daboll is very excited to have Barkley as his bell-cow back. I am too. Look, we know he’s gonna get the carries and a decent number of touchdowns if this offense just improves a tad bit. What’s most exciting is that Daboll should be able to scheme receptions for Barkley and get him involved in the passing game. You hear that? Sounds like fantasy points to me.
Most importantly though, Barkley is healthy. Say it with me guys because it’s true. You can see he’s got that burst and explosiveness back, something it felt like he’s been missing in the last couple seasons. Take a look at some of these clips from training camp.
Saquon Barkley is still that guy, I promise. You can’t look at his quads and then have the audacity to tell me you don’t want to draft him on your fantasy team. Jokes aside, he’s going to see a ton of volume in this offense and unlike last year, I think it’s actually going to be valuable touches. And not that it means everything, but Underdog Fantasy, the elitist, paid fantasy football platform, has Barkley as their running back eight. Just goes to show you what all the smartest brains in fantasy football think. At cost, I think Saquon Barkley could truly be a league winner with his rejuvenated talent and Daboll’s new scheme so don’t miss out!
