4. RB Saquon Barkley
The only member of this list to actually have made a Pro Bowl, Saquon Barkley is looking to get back on track for the NY Giants in a big way in 2020.
After getting off to a hot start in Weeks 1 and 2, a high-ankle sprain in Tampa Bay in Week 3 derailed his season to an extent. While most expected Barkley to miss 6-8 weeks time, minimum, he shocked everyone by coming back after just a few short weeks.
Was that a mistake? It’s too early to tell, but Barkley surely didn’t look himself until the end of the season. Still, it would be unfair to blame all of Saquon’s struggles on the injury as the offensive line as he wasn’t running with the same conviction and was much less of a threat in the pass game (thanks Pat Shurmur) – Saquon’s 5.5% drop rate surely didn’t help his cause, either.
On a positive note, the offensive line should be leaps and bounds better than it was over the past two seasons. That can only help Barkley, as there were far too many times he was attacked by numerous defenders in the backfield before he could even get going.
I recently took a stab at projecting Barkley’s 2020 season stats, and I believe they will be much more in line with what we saw in his OROY campaign in 2018.
Can he top 2,000 yards again? That remains to be seen, but if the offensive line can play even average, I can’t see how Jason Garrett won’t be able to get the best out of the young phenom.
1,800 total yards and 15 total touchdowns doesn’t seem to be too far out of the question if those things come together.
Maybe, just maybe, Garrett can figure out a way to get Barkley involved in more creative passing routes that go beyond the line of scrimmage (Barkley has averaged just 7 and 8 yards-per- reception in his career).
Chance it happens: 75%