ESPN recently put together a list of the top running backs in the NFL as voted on by players, coaches and scouts. This year is the third installation of the rankings and while New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley didn’t make the top 10, he did earn an honorable mention.
However, that came with a caveat. One NFL offensive coach gave Barkley an ugly review, claiming he has no idea how to be an actual running back.
Barkley was No. 1 on this list two years ago, but his decline has been precipitous. Injuries have cost him 22 games over four seasons, but that’s hardly the only issue with his game. In 2021, he produced just 593 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 162 carries.
“I’m down on him — he still doesn’t know how to play running back enough,” a veteran NFL offensive coach said. “He’s a bouncer. He wants every run to be a home run. He’s going to have to learn that 4-yard runs in this league are good, instead of stopping, cutting it back and losing 2. And he gets his ass kicked in protection.”
While injuries have certainly been a problem for Barkley, let’s also remember that he’s only in his fifth year — one year more than Daniel Jones — and he’s also on his third head coach.
How can anyone expect a young player to properly develop with mixed messages from different coaches on top of not being able to practice and play due to injury? Let’s also discuss how the offensive line has been a problem for a long time, the offense in general has struggled. So maybe Barkley’s cutbacks are a problem, but they are also the result of trying to make things happen where nothing else is working.
Barkley doesn’t need to be in the top 10 running backs in July — it doesn’t matter how other people view him today nearly as much as what the stat sheet shows in December.