New York Giants Counting on a Rejuvenated Saquon Barkley

So far, so good for running back Saquon Barkley, whom the Giants need to resemble his rookie form to help the offense get off on the right foot.

When the New York Giants drafted running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in 2018, the hope at the time was to give Eli Manning, their long-time quarterback, someone who could take some of the onus off Manning’s aging throwing arm.

Barkley did just that, giving the Giants a legitimate running game that saw him eclipse over 1,000 yards rushing. He also gave them another option in the passing game, with his 721 receiving yards as part of his season-high 2,028 all-purpose yards recorded as a rookie.

The following year when the Giants changed quarterbacks, going to then-rookie Daniel Jones over Manning, the hope remained that Barkley would take some of the onus off the young signal caller. Alas for the Giants, in that second season, Barkley began to get bitten by the injury bug, a trend that continued the next two seasons to include a season-ending ACL injury and, last season, a sprained ankle.

That was then, and this is now. Barkley is entering his fifth NFL season, and a big on. Unsigned beyond this year, the former Penn State star is fully healthy and has shown himself to be thriving early on in the Giants’ new and more modernized offense that has taken advantage of his ability to create mismatches in space.

The return to his "Rookie of the Year" form in which he ran for 1,307 yards and caught another 721 receiving yards is what the team is counting on to help determine the futures of both Barkley and Jones.

So far, Barkley has looked very much like the explosive all-purpose threat he was as a rookie.

“It’s been fun to watch him work,” Jones said of his backfield teammate. “He brings a lot to our offense from obviously running the ball to using him in space to make plays. He’s an explosive player, a smart player, and a guy that works really hard. From a quarterback’s perspective, that’s always fun to work with.”

Jones hasn’t always had that luxury. Last year, Barkley was in the latter stages of his rehab from ACL surgery and was kept out of training camp until toward the end, when even then, the two key cogs in the Giants offense never quite got on the same page.

Even when they were on the field together at the same time, it was tough sledding for the Giants. Jones had to contribute to the running game, perhaps a bit more than the coaches hoped he would. And with the rest of the skill position players dealing with injuries or questionable deployment in an antiquated offensive system, the Giants offense badly sputtered.

That’s all in the past, though. Barkley has looked explosive in camp and has said he’s no longer thinking about his surgically repaired knee. Instead, he’s immersed himself in the offense and fully embraced the fresh start that new head coach Brian Daboll has offered to every returning player on the roster.

That’s good news for Jones as well, who revealed that he and Barkley spent a lot of time training together in the off-season, presumably at some of the informal passing camps Jones organized in the run-up to training camp.

“Given how dedicated he is to making sure he’s ready to roll come this time of year, I haven’t been surprised by how he’s looked to start camp. I’m excited to work with him.”

The feeling is mutual.

“I know what I can be,” Barkley said. “If I’m able to go out there and do the things that I’m capable of doing, it’s going to make life a lot easier not only on Daniel, but I feel like on everyone.”

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