RB: Saquon Barkely - PHI

When evaluating Saquon Barkley for 2024, I'm not really looking at a lot of his stats from the last couple of years because the last couple of years in New York haven't really afforded him the same opportunities he's going to have in Philly. There are really two different things I'm looking at that would allow Saquon Barkley to hit the upside that would allow him to become a top-five running back.

The first will be rushing touchdowns. If rushing touchdowns become any type of issue for Saquon Barkley throughout the season because Jalen Hurts continues to take those at the goal line, that's when Barkley could end up seeing a little bit of a drop in his upside. The second part of this would be his receiving work. On the teams that Saquon Barkley has played with, he's never had this much talent at the wide receiver position: A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and on top of it, you have Dallas Goedert at the tight end position. Jalen Hurts isn't going to need to utilize Saquon on a consistent basis, and over the last couple of years, Saquon hasn't even been utilized by the Giants all that much in the passing game. His receiving work has dropped a little bit.

So when I see Saquon Barkley in an Eagles uniform, I don't see the high upside RB1 type of player that we had back when he was first drafted by the Giants. I see a little bit of a safer player now. I love his situation. I think he's going to have plenty of rushing attempts, and I think he's going to have plenty of rushing yards. He's going to have enough volume alone to be a guy that is a really safe mid to low-end RB1.

Now, for him to reach that upside and be a consistent top-tier RB1, he's going to have to have the rushing touchdowns and the receiving work. Efficiency-wise, this should be the best season that he's had really ever since he entered the league. Volume-wise, it should be very good once again. But other than those two things, I don't have any concerns for Saquon Barkley except just his overall health. He's missed a lot of games since coming into the league, including three games last season. He needs to stay healthy and he needs to stay on the field.

If you're drafting him as the RB6 or RB7, I think you're spot on with that. If you try drafting him as the RB3 or RB4, I think at that point you're getting a little ahead of yourself. I would rather have Saquon Barkley in the second round.