NY Giants: Setting expectations for Saquon Barkley be in 2021

It has been quite some time since we have seen Saquon Barkley put on a NY Giants uniform, and Giants fans cannot wait for the superstar running back’s inevitable return.

Barkley had high expectations heading into the 2020 season and was expected to be the main weapon in New York. Unfortunately, three games into the season he suffered an ACL tear in a Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The anticipation for his return is extremely high heading into 2021, the running back was seen as a top-5 running back in all of football, but after his injury guys like Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook, Alvin Kamara, and others made us forget just how much of a talent Barkley can be.

Speaking of Cook, he and many other running backs in NFL history have suffered a torn ACL and returned to great form and even returned better than they once were. Alvin Kamara also had a great 2020 despite suffering knee injuries the year prior.

Cook suffered a torn ACL in the 2017 season, and in 2020, he was putting up MVP caliber numbers for a large portion of the season.

The Vikings’ superstar has improved every year since he entered into the NFL, and this season he rushed for 1557 yards along with 16 touchdowns, both of which were 2nd in the league behind Derrick Henry.

Another Viking whose ACL recovery is even more famous would be obviously Adrian Peterson. Peterson suffered a torn ACL and MCL in 2011 and then proceeded to rush for 2097 yards just shy of the single-season record and carried the Vikings to the playoffs in an MVP season.

Peterson is a known idol for Barkley, and the two have been in touch throughout his recovery process. With the help of Peterson, Barkley does not doubt in his mind that he will return to the player that he once was, and will return even better as his idol did.

The Adrian Peterson comparisons came even before his injury for Barkley, some said he was the most talented running back we’ve seen coming out of college since the former Oklahoma Sooner in Peterson. Barkley has all the talent in the world to perform as AP did, but what will his numbers look like heading into next season?

What separates Saquon Barkley from Adrian Peterson in terms of playing style is Barkley’s catching ability.  In his rookie season, the NY Giants running back caught 91 passes for 721 yards along with 1307 rushing yards for over 2000 all-purpose yards. Barkley battled through a hamstring injury in 2019, but if he is healthy, the sky is the limit in 2021.

Will Barkley have an MVP season for the NY Giants the way that Peterson did for the Vikings? Most likely not but it truly is possible given the current situation with this team.

Daniel Jones needs weapons, this is something we all know and understand, with Saquon coming back the Giants will not need to acquire much Wide receiver talent through trades or free agency, but a potential first or second-round wide receiver would give Jones all the talent he needs with how good Barkley is.

Barkley will catch a ton of passes out of the backfield in 2021, with the way the NY Giants struggled to get the ball rolling offensively without him, look for Joe Judge and Jason Garrett to find plenty of ways to get him involved.

Barkley will need to be worked back into this offensive system with a year away from it, but with the talent level, he has there is no reason he cannot come back even stronger. He will also have the support of Wayne Gallman in relief who had a nice season in 2020, similar to how Toby Gerhart was there backing up Adrian Peterson in his MVP season.

Saquon Barkley will most likely have over 1000 yard this season and at least 400 receiving yards in 2021, but with many coming back from an ACL injury stronger than before, this seems a bit conservative but realistic.

I would not at all be surprised if Saquon Barkley gets to an MVP form this season, with the NY Giants needing him to carry the offense, and getting to play against weak defenses such as Dallas and Philadelphia, there is not much holding him back from doing so besides his offensive line.

The offensive line has been improving, however, so Barkley should have a much better time finding open holes to run through than he maybe did in 2018. Only time will tell just how much the Giants will use him though.

The expectations should remain very high for Barkley despite the ACL tear, the former No. 2 overall pick was drafted that high for a reason. Barkley has all the talent and drive in the world to overcome the adversity of this injury, and it will only motivate him to come back even stronger in 2021.