When the Philadelphia Eagles signed Saquon Barkley in free agency, he was coming off a down season with the New York Giants in which he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry.
Pessimists wondered whether Barkley was washed, while optimists made the fairly easy point that he played behind a historically awful offensive line that allowed the second-most sacks in the NFL, while in Philly he would be playing behind an elite line and alongside one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL who would help prevent opposing defenses from packing the box.
Through the Eagles' first seven games of the season, the optimists can claim victory on that debate. Barkley is averaging 5.9 yards per carry, the best of his career by far, with a staggering 4.3 yards before contact. He has 17 rushes of 10+ yards, 7 rushes of 20+ yards, and 4 rushes of 40+ yards.
| Saquon Barkley | YPC | Avg yards before contact | Avg yards after contact |
| 2018 (NYG) | 5.0 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| 2019 (NYG) | 4.6 | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| 2020 (NYG) | 1.8 | -0.1 | 1.8 |
| 2021 (NYG) | 3.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| 2022 (NYG) | 4.4 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| 2023 (NYG) | 3.9 | 1.9 | 2.0 |
| 2024 (PHI) | 5.9 | 4.3 | 1.6 |
As you can see in the chart above, Barkley's yards AFTER contact aren't really much different than they were when he played for the Giants, and in fact they're actually a little lower. In Philly, he has benefited from an offensive line capable of opening up holes, and has taken advantage of them while great vision and burst.
Let's take a look at all 17 runs of 10+ yards shall we?
1) Barkley for 11: 59 takes the bait on the TE motion across the formation, Landon Dickerson seals 95, and Cam Jurgens / Mekhi Becton own 93 on a combo block. Barkley patiently waits for it all to develop and hits the hole with authority when it opens up.
2) Barkley for 11, TOUCHDOWN: Jordan Mailata and Dickerson combo 94. Dickerson tries to come off of 94 to block 7, and 7 is anticipating that contact, but Dickerson slips, and the chair is pulled out from 7 so to speak, and takes himself out of the play as a result. Meanwhile, Jurgens and Becton throw 97 out the club, and Barkley has clear sailing to the end zone.
3) Barkley for 34: Mailata neutralizes 91 on the edge, Dickerson gets 45 to run away from him, and Jurgens executes an outstanding reach block on 93, and seals him to the inside while also getting movement on him down the field. Again, Barkley patiently lets it develop then turns on the jets when it opens up. A.J. Brown is also blocking on the safety way down the field.
4) Barkley for 10: Grant Calcaterra gets a good block on 50 while the corner (21) blitzes around the edge and takes himself out of the play. Lane Johnson gets to the second level and blocks 55. Dickerson is pulling and looking for work, but he doesn't immediately find any unengaged defenders so he just helps Lane and puts 55 on his ass. Barkley then bounces it wide, where he finally finds some Falcons defenders, who bring him down.
6) Barkley for 11: This one is a little chaotic, but it works. Calcaterra gets trucked by 20, but Barkley gets inside that block instead of running around it, so it's effective enough. Lane is an animal on this play, as he gets a pancake on 95, who is already engaged with Becton, then gets to the second level to block 56, before also getting a piece of 5. Also note Dickerson, who pulls and then seals 94 to the inside.
7) Barkley for 11: 96 has a TFL in his sights, but he's taken out by a pulling Dickerson. 90 and 93 are slanting right at the snap, which plays right into the Eagles hands here, as Tyler Steen and Jurgens continue to escort them in that direction. Fred Johnson gets to the second level and blocks 6, but isn't able to stay on him. Good vision by Barkley.
8) Barkley for 20: This is my second-favorite Barkley run in this post (No. 17 is my favorite). Again, the Saints are slanting right, but Barkley makes a subtle move to get low to avoid 96 after receiving the handoff from Hurts, before cutting up the field, playing peek-a-boo with 32, and exploding to the third level after 32 dives and misses. This is all Barkley, with a hat tip to Fred Johnson for his block on 56.
9) Barkley for 65, TOUCHDOWN: Mailata passes 99 to Dickerson, then clears 20 to the outside, and Barkley bursts through a huge hole to daylight, outracing 56 as well as the Saints' DBs to the end zone. Yes, he still has speed. Also note Steen's pancake, as well as Fred's/Goedert's combo block on the right side.
10) Barkley for 59: Good seal by Fred, and Jurgens might as well be wearing a 62 jersey on this pull to the perimeter before putting 52 on the ground. Barkley explodes around the edge and obliterates 29's angle down the field. Again, dude still has great speed.
11) Barkley for 10: This hole is a little smaller than the others in this post. Jurgens passes 94 to Dickerson, and then blocks 43. Becton's block on 99 is good enough. Barkley's vision and feel for holes opening up without slowing down is on display here.
12) Barkley for 55: Good seal by Fred, nice physical block by Brown on 31, and Jurgens is the star here as he gets to the edge with speed out in front of Barkley and blocks 3. (Jurgens is going to get a big contract next offseason, by the way.)
13) Barkley for 38: This is a zone read. I'm guessing Jack Stoll thought Hurts was going to keep this because he jumps out of the way of 57, which is effective because 57 then also thinks Hurts is going to keep it. 41 is then also fooled by Stoll, as he jumps to the outside leaving a gaping hole for Barkley. They basically got 57 and 41 to take themselves out of the play without blocking them. I won't have a chance to ask Stoll if this was by design before we publish, but will update later. Otherwise, good job by Lane and Steen on the combo block on All-Pro 97, and also Steen for coming off the combo and blocking 58. Added kudos for Barkley making 27 miss in the open field.
14) Barkley for 41: Dickerson turns 95 into a blocking sled on his combo with Jurgens, before coming off the combo to block 41. Have we mentioned yet how freaking good the Eagles are at combo blocks? Well, that should be pretty obvious by now. Steen takes care of 98, while FB Ben VanSumeren picks his way through the hole and erases 58. Barkley makes 27 miss in the open field (again), and he's off to the races. Should probably mention Barkley's vision here again.
15) Barkley for 11: Again, combo block. Dickerson and Jurgens move 90 like 5 yards before Jurgens peels off to block 24, who jumps out of the way of Jurgens, opening up a hole for Barkley. Good movement by Steen on 74 here as well.
16) Barkley for 19: Good job by Steen getting to 93's right shoulder. 93 then basically takes himself out of the play. Good blocks by Dickerson on 90 and Fred on 58. And Jurgens doesn't really have anyone to block running through the hole, but he eventually finds 20 and throws him to the ground. My old, slow ass could run through that hole.
17) Barkley for 17: And finally, let's not even bother evaluating the blocking here, and just enjoy this Barkley run, complete with a jump cut, a stiff arm, a couple broken tackles, a tip-toe down the sideline, and a hurdle of a photographer. 🧑🍳
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