There will be no excuses for NY Giants running back Saquon Barkley in 2022. This will be his second full season since suffering his torn ACL. On top of that, the Giants have completely transformed the offensive line and the hosses up front will be ready to open up massive holes for him.
Barkley, a Pro Bowler during his rookie season in 2018, has been a shell of his former self in recent years, but there’s plenty of hope he’ll be able to have a strong campaign in ’22 and remind people why he’s a former No. 2 overall pick. If you ask Alex Kay of Bleacher Report, Barkley is a ‘dark horse’ to potentially lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns this season. This would be something.
Saquon Barkley runs a drill at OTAs pic.twitter.com/MCgqw3xY8D
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) May 19, 2022
Saquon Barkley is ready for a big NY Giants season
"“The Giants beefed up their run-blocking capabilities in the draft, selecting elite tackle Evan Neal at No. 7 to bookend their offensive line with Andrew Thomas,” Kay wrote on Barkley. “They also picked up third-round guard Joshua Ezeudu, a potential starter.These rookie additions, coupled with a pair of key free-agent pickups in Jon Feliciano and Mark Glowinski, should have Big Blue’s line in better shape than it has been in years. If Barkley returns to form, he’ll find plenty of paydirt behind it.”"
In his first year with the G-Men, Barkley indeed was fantastic. That fall, he rushed for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns, while adding 721 receiving yards and four more scores. Since then, he’s combined for eight rushing touchdowns and four receiving scores. That’s not what anyone expected for the former Penn State Nittany Lion.
Last season, the hope was that Barkley would ball out and not let his knee injury bring him down whatsoever. He closed the campaign with 592 rushing yards and two touchdowns. What really prevented him from really taking off was the poor play of the offensive line, but Barkley looked like he had lost a step or two, which was tough to see.
Now that some big, new bodies are ready to block for him, including No. 7 overall pick Evan Neal, things are put in place for Barkley to have a big year. He’s been moving fluidly in OTAs, which has obviously been awesome to see for head coach Brian Daboll. Fans are rooting for Barkley to silence everyone that’s been bashing him. Barkley has what it takes to make it a special ’22 and it looks like scribes believes in his potential as well.