The last three seasons have been a disappointment for Saquon Barkley. This after his stellar college career, after posting over 2000 all-purpose yards to complement his 15 touchdowns as a rookie.
What happened next is a reminder of the brutality of the position. In Week 3 of the 2019 season, he sprained his ankle in a game against pre-Brady Tampa Bay. Ankle injuries are tricky. Based on the position and the severity, it can take a player two to eight-plus weeks to come back. There was a sense that Saquon pushed through too early, and one could see its effect on the field. He was back to his former self by the final weeks of the season, but still, there was that yawning gap that compromised the majority of the season.
But 2020 (like for most of us) proved to be much worse. Upon posting an appalling 15 attempts for 6 yards against Pittsburgh in Week 1, he followed up the subsequent week with an ACL tear in the second quarter at Soldier Stadium. That season’s book shut quick.
Last year one could argue he was still dealing with that knee. There were a couple of moments he looked like the Saquon of 2018, but they were blurred by the poor blocking, the wall of defenders, and the lack of explosion. His brightest game was against the Bears, in the very stadium he tore his ACL fifteen months prior, putting up 102 yards on the game’s 6th-ranked defense.
But let me ask you: do you remember how special Saquon is?
I go back to his career in college, where he was not just bigger than everyone else. He was faster. He was as close to uncatchable as anyone else with his blend of speed and size. Highlights are plastered all over the web with him taking handoffs to the house, have at them. College is different than professional. But still: one cannot help but notice the jaw on the ground. It is a thing of beauty to watch. He has this sixth sense and can feel the closeness of a cornerback looking to grab him by his ankles, and so Saquon does this hop and kicks his feet as though he were a thoroughbred, rendering any chance of tackling him mute. That’s if the defenders can come close to him, for explosiveness, again and again, allows no chance of this to transpire.
I am reminded of an October night in south Philadelphia, one of those Thursday night games called by Buck and Aikman featuring two bad teams that only the die-hards and fantasy/daily junkies watch. On 2nd and 10 from the Giants’ 32, a screen pass to Saquon to the strong side sends him up the sidelines, and his speed is so overpowering that he burst right past the outside linebacker and waves on his linemen with his left hand to signal that he’s taking this down the field. This is exactly what he does as he weaves down the field like a cheetah through the savannah, waving off linebackers with a flip of his shoulders and running over to the opposite sideline, tilting his back ever so to the left so he could run into the gradual groove toward the end zone, and by this time the announcers are losing it as he cuts back inside, making two members of the Eagles secondary miss and stop just a handful of yards short from the goal line. On the next possession, the Eagles are not as lucky, as Saquon cuts back and shoots the strong-side D gap and with that much open field he puts on the accelerators, and much like the Millennium Falcon we don’t see him again.
All of this to say: don’t forget how special Saquon is. When he is healthy he dominates. The 2018 Giants were nowhere close to a good team. They went 5-11 and were in last place in the NFC East, a division in which to be the worst team sets a low benchmark. There are always unknowns with a new coaching staff, but it doesn’t take a genius to see how special Saquon is and wonder how can I get the ball in his hands?
We’re nearing the end of June, and his average draft position is 29 in standard-scoring leagues, going as the RB15. Yes, this is June. Yes, a lot can and does change between now and early September. But still, he’s far from being drafted in the first round, and not even getting picked up in the second in most cases. Saquon in the third round is an absolute steal if it hits. These are the kind of hits that are league-winners.
