Former No. 2 overall pick, Saquon Barkley, had an amazing start to his career. He was named 2018 Rookie of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl.
The former Nittany Lion totaled 3,469 scrimmage yards and 23 touchdowns in his first two seasons with the New York Giants. However, things have not been so bright for Barkley as of recently.
In fact, since 2020, Barkley has the fewest yards per rush (min. 150 attempts) of any NFL running back.
Fewest yards per rush since start of 2020
(among players with 150 attempts)Saquon Barkley 3.46
Todd Gurley 3.48
Frank Gore 3.49 pic.twitter.com/UTEFWomPqk— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) April 11, 2022
Saquon had an awful 2020 season (where he only averaged 1.8 yards per carry) before tearing his ACL. Then in 2021, he had a below-average season where he only totaled 593 rushing yards on 3.7 yards per attempt as he was hindered by an ankle sprain.
Despite Barkley’s lack of production, not all of the burden can be placed on him. The Giants have had a bottom-five offensive line in the NFL over the past two seasons and one of the worst passing offenses. This resulted in teams stacking the box and Barkley having minimal running lanes to attack.
Hopefully for New York, these problems can improve as the Giants will likely pursue one or two linemen in the NFL draft to pair with the interior offensive line signings of Max Garcia, Jon Feliciano, and Mark Glowinski.
These veterans paired with an emerging Andrew Thomas and a likely rookie right tackle should allow the Giants to have a solid front this season which should allow Barkley to once again play like a top running back in football.
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