New York Giants Running Back Saquon Barkley Bears Watching

Back in 2018, then-New York Giants’ general manager Dave Gettleman made Penn State running back Saquon Barkley the second overall pick in the draft. The former Nittany Lion earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He started all 16 games, led the league in total yards from scrimmage (2,028) and scored 15 touchdowns. A year later, he rolled up 1,441 scrimmage yards and reached the end zone eight times in 13 outings.

Barkley would miss the final 14 games in 2020 with a knee injury. He rebounded this past season to start and play in 15 games. But the past two years have added up to 950 yards from scrimmage and four TDs.

Of course, the team wound up drafting that high four years ago because the franchise finished with the second-worst record in the NFL (3-13) in 2017. Over the past five seasons, the Giants own a combined 22-59 record. This past year, the club won only four games and finished next-to-last in the league in both scoring and total yards per game.

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Saquon on Saquon

But back to the former Penn State standout. Recently, Barkley responded to some criticism about his running style (via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News). “I know…a thing that’s been said about me is he don’t know what he’s doing, he’s just dancing back there.

“I’m really kind of fed up with people who never played the position and try to speak on how I run the football. We call them All-Pros with clickers in their hand.”

Apparently this is a sore subject for the talented runner and one that has come up before. However, Barkley looked to put some closure on the topic.

“This is probably the last time I’m gonna speak on this. I know people are gonna say dancing and this, that and the third, and ‘he don’t get north and south.’ I’m not just gonna run into my lineman’s back. That’s not how I play the game. It’s not how I’ve been playing since I was 8 years old. I’ve been playing this position for a very long time.”

If you caught the team’s preseason tilt vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, it was evident that regardless of who was lining up on the offensive line that the team’s much-maligned unit of recent seasons looked a lot more physical than the recent additions.

New head coach Brian Daboll, Barkley and the Giants kick off the 2022 season with a visit to Tennessee in Week 1. A year ago, the Titans gave up the second-fewest rushing yards in the league. It sounds like a great test for not only a revamped offensive front but Big Blue’s four-year running back, who may be primed to regain his standout form and also surprise some people in 2022. And that can only benefit quarterback Daniel Jones and a New York offense that has struggled mightily for far too long.