(Photo: CNN)
The Philadelphia Eagles won their second Super Bowl title in franchise history last month after beating the Kansas City Chiefs. I know there were question marks about them earlier during the 2024 season. How would Jalen Hurts bounce back after a down season in 2023? Where would this Offensive Line go without Jason Kelce who retired last off-season? The Eagles were winners of ten in a row during the regular season and clinched the NFC East with a 14-3 record and the two seed in the NFC Playoffs. Their biggest addition was Saquon Barkley who was released from the New York Giants and decided to stay in the division and signed with the rivals. Today, he was rewarded with a contract extension which will keep him in Philly for the foreseeable future and signed a two-year extension worth $41.2 million.
Saquon is the best Running Back in our league right now, and it’s not close as far as I’m concerned. I understand he’s dealt with a slew of injuries during his stint with the Giants, and he’s been labeled as the guy you can’t rely on. The Giants allow him to walk, and he found his groove in Philadelphia with the Eagles, and it was such a hand and glove fit. When healthy, what he did last season is what he is capable of doing on a weekly basis. Saquon loves the game and plays with heart, fire and passion each week and that’s something you either have in you or you don’t. He’s an every down back that can do it all as he can create gaps that aren’t there, he displays patience, yet he’s powerful and has the speed and bounce to get away from you. I love how he can wear down a defense with his physical style of running downhill, but don’t let that fool you! Saquon is quick enough to cut on a dime and show you the shiftiness to get away from a defender, and he’ll either power through and run you over, fake one way and cut the other, or, he’ll hurdle over you, backwards! Saquon is a dynamic runner who can get himself into traffic and find those creases in space and when he breaks into the open field, it can get dangerous because he’s a threat to score each time the football hits his hands. This is an all around back that has strong contact balance, size, quickness and strength. I see a lot of Adrian Peterson in Saquon’s game just with being powerful through contact and being able to drag defenders with you which I saw a lot of from AP back in his playing days.
Throughout last season, I compared Saquon signing with the Philadelphia Eagles to Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors back in 2016. It’s amazing how one player can change the dynamic of everything and have that much of an impact in the first season. Many said those Warriors don’t win those titles without KD and I think the same can be said about Saquon as they don’t win the Super Bowl without him. He is coming off the best season of his career where he became the ninth member of the 2,000 yard rushing club, he had a deep run in the postseason and won his first Super Bowl title. I couldn’t make any of this up if I wanted to! This is so well deserved for one of the stars of our game, and he becomes the first Running Back in NFL history to earn $20 million per season.
