Saquon Barkley seems to be learning from his earlier mistakes, which is an extremely positive development for the NY Giants.
NY Giants star running back Saquon Barkley has already started training for the upcoming NFL season. With an early start to Barkley’s offseason, he plans to have a monstrous upcoming 2020 campaign by returning stronger and healthier than ever before.
Barkley, who is the former 2018 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year, has all the tools to do just that – speed, size, strength, quickness, and plenty of swagger.
From watching him play the last two seasons, he has shown that he is one of the most elusive and complete running backs in the league. He does it all – exploding outside for huge gains, or catching five-yard passes and turning them into big gains down the open field after a few broken tackles.
Now, a totally new scheme change in the offensive system with Jason Garrett at the helm should open things up even more for Barkley.
Although the Pro Bowl numbers which most expected from Saquon Barkley did not happen in 2019 because of an unfortunate ankle injury causing him to miss a number of games, he still managed to rack up 1,003 rushing yards and 438 receiving yards while playing only thirteen games.
As an optimistic NY Giants fan, there is not a doubt in my mind that he could have produced numbers as good or even better last year than his rookie year had it not been cut short by injuries. Barkley was on track for it, while just averaging under 17 carries he was producing near 80 yards just on the ground – solid numbers for the hard-working franchise running back.
This offseason is all about putting in hard work. “Work. Work Smart,” he told the media. Unlike last year when he took some time away in Los Angeles, this year he has made moves that will make it easier for him to train in New Jersey where he has purchased a home and plans to live full-time.
All great signs to show that he is doing his best to improve his game and his commitment to the success of the team. “I really want to win now. That is the mindset,” he said. ”But I didn’t have the year I wanted to have — injuries had something to do with that — but I’m going to try to take it to another level. Going to be tough; turn this thing around,” Barkley told ESPN’s Staff Writer Jordan Ranaan.
Saquon Barkley has a much different mindset this year, and it’s all based around winning and putting the team first. In order for him to help Big Blue succeed, he has to stay healthy and improve all facets of his game. This will be Barkley’s third year in the league, and as he creeps into veteran status, he has realized things that he didn’t consider in his earlier two seasons.
Hopefully, Barkley’s offseason regiment will include a heavy dose of working on his pass-blocking. Too many times in 2019, the all-world runningback put his quarterback at risk by missing a key blocking assignment.
The fact he is not taking any personal time away this off-season means more time to work on himself and improve his game, which is a sign of maturity. The NY Giants organization has made a lot of changes, and with Barkley getting a head start, he will be well prepared offensively.
We all expect a lot from him, and I believe he will have the Pro Bowl numbers again along with helping the NY Giants back into the upper echelon of the league.