Saquon Barkley is ready to prove everyone wrong
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley was one of the best running backs in the NFL over his first two seasons.
As a rookie in 2018, he recorded 1,307 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on five yards per attempt, while also adding 91 catches for 721 yards and four more scores through the air. Barkley, who was the No. 2 overall pick in that year’s draft, won offensive rookie of the year. He missed three games with an ankle sprain in 2019, but still racked up over 1,400 yards from scrimmage with eight total touchdowns.
The last two seasons have been marred by injury: Suffering a season-ending torn ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 season while missing four weeks in the middle of the season last year with another ankle injury.
Barkley wans’t very productive when he was on the floor, racking up 593 yards with one touchdown. A change of offensive scheme should greatly benefit Barkley, who’s more than ready to prove everyone wrong.
“Last year was more like, ‘Dang, the game was taken away from me.’ I never had a season where I didn’t go and play football. Now, it’s a kill mindset,” Barkley said in an appearance on the “2nd Wind” podcast recently.
“Now it’s like, you know what? F— everybody. I’m ready to go crazy and imma let the world feel me.”
The Giants tailback is currently listed as Fantasy Pros‘ RB10 in standard formats — behind New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara, Cleveland’s Nick Chubb and Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon — and RB9 in PPR formats.
For a dynamic player whose last few years have been marred by injury, that feels about right. He will be on the fifth-and-final year of his rookie deal, set to make $7.22 million and could work out an extension with the Giants this upcoming offseason.
“Do I feel like I’m back? I feel like I’m better to be completely honest,” he said. “I’m older now. I’m 25. I’ve been through some stuff. Ups and downs. Now I’m in a situation where you know me? I’ve always had the mindset I’ve been counted out. But now, it’s actually here. It’s actually real. People are really counting me out. People are really trying to write me off.
“I don’t really do it for the pleasure of others or making other people satisfied. I do it just because I want to be great,” he said. “But now I have that extra motivation to push me to go out there and shut everyone up.”
The Giants have one of the NFL’s easiest schedules in 2022 — playing the NFC North, AFC South, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens — with first-year offensive-minded head coach Brian Daboll at the helm. It couldn’t get much worse for the G-Man with Joe Judge, so it will be interesting to see if the tailback can flourish behind an improved, yet modest offensive line if he’s able to stay healthy.
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