Pro Football Focus released their annual list of the top 25 NFL players under the age of 25, and in what will come as a surprise to no one, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley made the cut.
Barkley was listed alongside Alvin Kamara and Kareem Hunt at the running back position, but no other Giant accompanied him on the list.
RB SAQUON BARKLEY, NEW YORK GIANTS
Age at kickoff: 22 YEARS, 6 MONTHS, 30 DAYS
Saquon Barkley was as advertised: he nothing short of sensational in his rookie year. In his 16 games, Barkley racked up 1,307 rushing yards from his 261 attempts, with 872 of those yards coming after contact (the fourth-most by a rookie running back in the PFF era). However, as great as Barkley was as a runner, his real value came from his receiving snaps, where he caught 91 of his 114 targets (both of which broke PFF records for a rookie) for 721 yards. His average of 1.54 yards per route run ranked 10th among the league’s backs last year, but his 31 missed tackles forced as a receiver set a record for the most by a rookie running back in the PFF era.
What more even needs to be said? Barkley is a record-breaking generational talent who is only just beginning to scratch the surface of his overall potential.
Barkley will appear on PFF’s top 25 under 25 list for two more years before he’s not longer eligible, but that doesn’t mean he’ll go downhill from there. So long as he can stay healthy, Barkley has another 8-10 years to dominate.
