Why Tiki Barber says NY Giants’ Saquon Barkley has ‘limitless’ potential
NY Giants legend Tiki Barber believes that Saquon Barkley has ‘limitless potential,’ and offers the star running back advice on how to come back stronger from torn ACL
Much of the NY Giants’ success this upcoming season hinges on star running back Saquon Barkley staying healthy, returning to his explosive form and proving that any lingering effects of his torn ACL are far in the rearview mirror.
There have been encouraging signs that Barkley is well on the road to recovery, via videos released by the running back and the NY Giants in recent months, but Giants legend Tiki Barber has little doubt the former No. 2 overall draft pick will bounce back stronger than ever.
“Saquon’s ceiling is limitless,” Barber tells FanSided, while promoting the Display app which will help athletes capitalize on their likeness. “Because he is a grounded athlete and extremely athletic.”
Barkley will once again be the focal point of the NY Giants’ offense, especially if he is able to replicate his success as a rookie in 2018 when he collected Offensive Rookie of The Year honors while producing 2,028 yards from scrimmage and scoring 15 total touchdowns.
But, in order to stay on the field and complete just his second full season — Barkley suffered a high-ankle sprain that kept him out of three games in 2019 and limited him for much of that season, Barber believes the Penn State alum is going to need to adapt in 2021.
“To stay healthy he will need to regain comfort on his reconstructed knee,” Barber explained. “Which means he will need to learn to run smarter, not harder, so that he does not continue to put himself in a dangerous position. Running through contact will help.”
Running through contact, and also eluding it in the backfield, could prove critical for Barkley and the NY Giants’ success on offense next season.
During 2019, Barkley averaged 3.23 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus, and still rattled off 27 explosive runs while scoring six touchdowns.
Barkley admits that suffering through his significant injuries the past two seasons have forced him to change his outlook in the backfield.
"“Just being out last year, or the ankle sprain the year before,” Barkley said during the NY Giants’ mandatory minicamp. “I don’t know if I’ve been hurt other than that, but I have just belief in that you can control what you can control. Both times that I’ve been so far in any NFL career were things that really nothing I could have done to change.”"
Barber’s efforts with Display, a new social-media platform that gives power back to content creators by splitting advertising revenue with them 50/50, is teaming up with INFLCR, the leading software for student-athlete brand-building, to help student-athletes disclose compensation from their social engagement and content creation for the first time.
“I believe that display’s collaboration with INFLCR will help student athletes in realizing the value of their personal brand and impact the way that they deliver their content,” Barber says. “It’s easy to hop on social media and post non-strategic content but if players can hone in on what makes them unique individuals and treat each platform like a business, they can really monetize their name image and likeness. I hope that student athletes start to use social media to reflect what they believe in and who they truly are.”
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Matt Lombardo is FanSided’s National NFL Insider and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday. Email Matt: Matt.Lombardo@FanSided.com, Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL