Will the real Saquon Barkley please stand up? NY Giants fans out there are waiting to see which Barkley will show up for the team this campaign. Last year, the former No. 2 overall pick returned from his torn ACL with high expectations, but he had a nightmare of a season and trade rumors surrounded him this offseason.
However, Barkley looked fantastic during OTAs and minicamp, moving around like his old self, while he has a shredded look to boot. In a piece for the NFL.com, writer Kevin Patra released his list of non-QB MVPs for each team this season. He went with Barkley as the Giants pick, putting a ton of pressure on the RB. Will Barkley answer the call?
NY Giants RB Saquon Barkley will have countless eyes on him this season
"“If Big Blue is going to stun prognosticators, Barkley will be at the forefront of that effort,” Patra said of Barkley. “Since his dynamic rookie season (NFL-best 2,028 scrimmage yards), the running back has missed 21 games and never looked fully back from his ACL tear last season. But if he can return to form in 2022, Barkley is a dual-threat weapon who can control games and be the ideal security blanket for Daniel Jones. We haven’t seen the real Saquon in years — the man with the Barry Sanders-type moves in the open field who can burn past DBs. In what amounts to a make-or-break campaign, here’s betting Barkley can get back on track.”"
As you can see, Patra is pretty much going all in on Barkley reminding folks of just how good he can be. With Joe Judge and Jason Garrett no longer holding him back, the hope is that Barkley can do wonders under the direction of new head coach Brian Daboll and new offense coordinator Mike Kafka.
The same can be said for Daniel Jones, who is in desperate need of a big 2022 as well. With Barkley, the idea of him making a lot more plays for the passing game has the NY supporters excited. When Barkley gets the pigskin in open space, he can make would-be tacklers look foolish time and time again.
With Barkley in a contract year, he’s going to want to blow up offensively in hopes of earning himself a major payday next offseason. There’s a lot of haters wishing the worst for Barkley, but it feels like No. 26 could have a strong campaign in 2022. Only time will tell if that happens, but Prada has full belief in him.