Nov 3, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) reacts after his touchdown catch against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
Saquon Barkley's game Sunday wasn't blemish free — although the major blunder, a third quarter fumble returned for a touchdown, should have been overturned — but it was clear he was the best player on the field as the Eagles defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-23.
Barkley rushed for 159 yards Sunday with two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. It was the continuation of what's been a special first season with the Eagles.
3rd & 17? Saquon Barkley TD ✅
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As A.J. Brown has struggled to stay on the field, it's been Barkley who has unquestionably been the best player for the Eagles in 2024. The free-agent contract that the Eagles signed Barkley to — a three-year/$37.75 million pact that guarantees him $26 million — looks incredibly team-friendly.
Consider this: Barkley is making $13.5 million this season when you combined his base salary and signing bonus, according to Spotrac. Here's a sampling of wide receivers making in that or more in 2024:
- Christian Kirk: Jacksonville Jaguars — $16.5 Million
- Darnell Mooney: Atlanta Falcons — $17.51 Million
- Gabe Dave: Jacksonville Jaguars — $13.5 Million
- Jerry Jeudy: Cleveland Browns — $19 Million
These are all players who have had some very productive moments in their career, but would anyone consider them No. 1 wideouts? Heck, they may be closer to a No. 3 target on a Super Bowl-caliber team.
To a degree it's understandable why teams view the running back position as replaceable, although it would be a mistake to have a one-size-fits-all approach with paying running backs.
Christian McCaffrey had a monster game in Super Bowl LVIII, and it appears that a few teams realized the 49ers had taken advantage of a market inefficiency. Is there more of an injury risk at running back than wide receiver? Yes, and McCaffrey is probably the best evidence of that. But the market has become so suppressed at the position that you can get a superstar running back for the price of a No. 2 wide receiver.
Insane run from Saquon Barkley 🔥
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So Howie Roseman and the Eagles did that this past offseason, and Barkley has rewarded them with 925 rushing yards. That's the second-highest total in the league, despite the Eagles already having had their bye week.
The only player with more rushing yards this year? Derrick Henry, who has continued his march towards the Hall of Fame with 1,052 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns in his first nine games with the Baltimore Ravens. He's making $9 million in 2024, after signing just a two-year/$16 million deal with the Ravens last offseason that guaranteed him only $9 million.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys – who let Tony Pollard walk in free agency and didn't make any major offseason investments at the position — are 3-5, with their season on the ropes. That's obviously not exclusively because of the running back position, but imagine if they had Barkley or Henry.
The Eagles took advantage of where the market was last offseason. Will Barkley play all 17 games this season? Maybe not. But he'd delivered a superstar output for the price of a fringe No. 2 wide receiver. That's an amazing return on investment for the Eagles.
