ALTOONA, Pa. -- Saquon Barkley is the greatest athlete I've ever personally encountered. From a sheer physical standpoint, he is the epitome of a freak athlete because of his incredible gifts, skill, work ethic and everything else.
But Barkley is not having a great NFL career -- statistically, that is. Not near as good as someone with his amazing skill set would be expected to have four years into the pros.
Is it Barkley's fault? No, not really. He plays for a terrible team that has lots and lots of holes. He missed nearly the entire 2020 season with an ACL injury in week two, and he missed four games this year with an ankle injury. His team is so limited offensively that every opposing defense can focus heavily on shutting him down.
Barkley has 429 yards rushing and two TDs in 10 games this season. He ranks 44th in the NFL in rushing yardage. He averages just 42.9 yards per game on the ground. He continues to be a quality receiving back, with 37 catches for 248 yards and two scores.
If you watch highlights of New York Giants games, you'll see that Barkley still can make jaw-dropping plays, just like he did at Penn State. And when you see those, you think to yourself, this guy is still one of the most talented running backs in the world.
But if you just look at the statistics, the conclusion would be different. The conclusion would indicate that Barkley is really just an average NFL running back, regardless of how much name recognition he still receives.
Again, to be crystal clear, I do believe if you put Barkley on a better team that wasn't a train wreck offensively, he would put up the kind of numbers one would expect from one of the faces of the league. But if he stays with the Giants, who never seem to be able to get their stuff together, it's hard not to wonder if Barkley will ever be able to put up the kind of numbers we would expect from someone with his immense talent.
I can say, without hesitation, that Barkley is a better running back than Miles Sanders, his former Penn State teammate who's with the Philadelphia Eagles. If I'm starting a team and could choose between the two, I'd take Barkley in a heartbeat because his upside and versatility are superior to Sanders.
But the question I'm asking here is not who is the better running back.
The question is: Which of the two will have a better NFL career?
Looking at it through the lens of statistical success, it is easy to think that Sanders could outperform Barkley in the pros. Especially if Barkley either can't get away from the Giants or that team miraculously turns things around very, very quickly while Barkley is still young enough to take advantage.
Sanders has 709 yards rushing in 11 games, including 131 on 18 carries Tuesday night in a win over Washington. He has topped 100 yards in each of the past two games, going for 120 last week against the Jets.
Barkley's top rushing game this season has been 64 yards. He only played 1 1/2 games last year, so that comes with an asterisk, but he hasn't had a 100-yard rushing game since a fantastic 189-yard performance against Washington in week 15 of the 2019 season.
Sanders isn't the receiving weapon Barkley is, but he does have 155 yards on 25 catches this year.
Barkley had a sensational rookie season in 2018, leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 2,028.
But over the past three years, since Sanders entered the league, these are their statistical breakdowns (again, Barkley missed almost all of 2020):
Barkley: 2,212 yards from scrimmage, 1,466 yards rushing, 746 yards receiving, 12 TDs (8 rushing)
Sanders: 3,255 yards from scrimmage, 2,394 yards rushing, 861 yards receiving, 12 TDs (9 rushing)
Barkley is one of the biggest names in the NFL. Sanders is not. So it may come as a huge surprise to people that the latter's stats over the past three years are better. For a third time, yes, Barkley missed most of a year, so that certainly will skew the overall numbers. But injuries happen, so you just can't overlook that because they do impact overall production.
Sports are about numbers. Sure we love the eye test, and going by that, Barkley would still be the choice for most if you asked which running back they'd rather have in the NFL.
But when all is said and done in their careers -- unless Barkley can get out of the dismal situation he's in with the Giants -- it wouldn't be a surprise if Sanders ends up with much better statistics. They're both the same age (24), but Barkley has more wear and tear with the serious ACL injury, and he just doesn't have as much help on offense as Sanders has, so the target on Barkley's back is bigger.
Who do you think will have the better NFL career? Post in our comments section.
