It goes without saying, but NY Giants running back Saquon Barkley was one of the standouts from OTAs and minicamp. Despite fans only getting a small sample size of what the playmaker could potentially get done this upcoming season, Barkley turned countless heads thank to his strong play.
It anything, it has people more fired up about the thought of him having a bounce-back campaign in 2022. Luckily for everyone who loves the Giants, Barkley is entering the new season with a fresh mindset. Not only that, he’s loving the new offense being implemented by Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. With this, Barkley knows he could be asked to catch more balls and he’ll be up to the challenge.
NY Giants RB Saquon Barkley knows the pressure is on him in 2022
"“It’s more of a passing camp, so I’m probably moving around a little bit more,” Barkley said on his workload during minicamp. “But just in case if that is the game plan or the goal for me this year, to go out there and catch the ball a little bit more, I’ve got to be ready for it. It starts here. It starts here in minicamp, and as I said, going into this little break that we have, getting with Daniel (Jones), getting with quarterbacks and just working on my hands, working on that part of the game so I can be versatile.”"
No one has forgotten about Barkley’s impressive rookie season where he put on a show catching the ball out of the backfield. That campaign, where Barkley also rushed for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns, he posted 91 receptions for 721 yards and four scores. Those are some eye-opening numbers from the speedster.
Since then, though, Barkley hasn’t caught more than 52 balls in a season. Last year, he was limited to 263 receiving yards on 41 catches. That isn’t what anyone was hoping to see, but it was also clear that the offense Jason Garrett was trying to run with the Giants was the textbook definition of vanilla.
However, Kafka and Daboll have provided the unit with plenty of excitement and Barkley knows that his number could be called much more often this fall to catch balls from Daniel Jones. With his explosive abilities, it only makes sense for Barkley to be featured more in the aerial attack. He’s too good to not be made a focus in that regard.
It really feels like the former No. 2 overall pick is going to have a monster season in 2022. He’s fully healthy from his torn ACL, he’s working with Daboll and Kafka, and perhaps most importantly, there’s a new offensive line ready to do work for him. Barkley has what it takes to be one of the top running backs in the NFC next season, no doubt.