Will Barkley be what the Eagles hoped? His spot on top 25 countdown

Will Barkley be what the Eagles hoped? His spot on top 25 countdown originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Over the next few weeks leading up to training camp, we’ll be counting down the top 25 most important Eagles for the 2024 season.

25. Brandon Graham
24. Nakobe Dean
23. Milton Williams
22. Jake Elliott
21. Nolan Smith
20. Cooper DeJean
19. Reed Blankenship
18. Tyler Steen
17. Devin White
16. Quinyon Mitchell
15. Jordan Davis
14. Landon Dickerson
13. C.J. Gardner-Johnson
12. Dallas Goedert
11. Josh Sweat
10. Bryce Huff
9. Cam Jurgens
8. Saquon Barkley

The biggest splash and the biggest surprise of the Eagles’ offseason?

No question. It was the addition of Saquon Barkley.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman did something many thought he would never do again: Sign a running back to a big-money deal. But he brought in Barkley on a three-year, $37.75 million contract in March.

“I think, for us, it’s hard to find special players at any position,” Roseman said at the NFL owners meetings. “We think Saquon’s a special player and we think he’s a special person. And when you’re trying to find those guys, they’re hard to find, especially on the open market.

“Then you put into the dynamic about … has the pendulum swung so far at this position? The guy touches the ball 300 times a year, hopefully. There’s not a lot of other skill position players that are touching the ball that many times and have that effect.”

Even with a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore, the Eagles know their passing attack is still going to run through A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. Adding a player like Barkley presented the best opportunity for them to improve the offense without taking away touches from those other top-notch players.

And when Barkley is at his best, there aren’t many better running backs in the NFL.

Still, it is fair to question if Barkley at age 27 and with a ton of touches in his career can regain that top-tier form. But the No. 2 overall pick…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/barkley-eagles-hoped-spot-top-110000447.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-07-11 11:00:00

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