Anonymous Coach Voices Concern for Eagles RB Saquon Barkley

The Philadelphia Eagles bucked a notable positional trend in March when they signed former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.7 million deal.

But considering his age and position, not everyone is high on the 27-year-old Barkley ahead of his first season in Philly.

“Probably not as fast as he used to be,” an anonymous NFL offensive coach told ESPN. “He has the ability to make people miss in space, which is sometimes bad since you think you can bounce it and outrun people. But when he does get downhill, running in between tackles, he’s so strong naturally that he’s hard to tackle. He runs through arm tackles. Just has to decide to do it.”

The Eagles clearly see things differently, or they wouldn’t have thrown money at Barkley. The move was a bit surprising since the team chose to not re-sign a 25-year-old D’Andre Swift following a career-best season, but that just goes to show how confident Howie Roseman and co. feel about what the future holds with Barkley in the backfield.

Sure, injuries plagued Barkley in 2020 and 2021, but he bounced back in 2022, finishing with a career-best 1,312 rushing yards on 295 carries to go along with 10 touchdowns.

If the Eagles can get the best of Barkley next season, the franchise will quickly be able to forget about the frustrations that last year created.

Zach Dimmitt:

MSN