Former Chargers QB Ryan Leaf Says Saquon Barkley Would be "Incredibly Valuable" to Harbaugh's Offense

Ryan Leaf joins Bleav in Chargers to discuss the idea of Saquon Barkley joining the Chargers.

The wheels of free agency have already started to turn despite the start of it not happening for another month. Pundits, players, and fans have begun to speculate which players will end up with what team. One of the biggest storylines is current Giants RB Saquon Barkley ending up with the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Former Chargers QB Ryan Leaf joined Bleav in Chargers to discuss the possibility of Barkley being a top-level target for the team in free agency. 

"A guy that they're looking at is Saquon Barkley. Everybody jumped up and down around the idea of the cap situation. I get it. But if you talk to any general manager, you talk to anybody who's worked in the front office...cap issues...if you want to fix them, you fix it. You push it, you avoid years. You do whatever. You kick the can down the road to win a championship. So if they want to get their guy, and I think in Jim Harbaugh's offense, he would be incredibly valuable. It's going to cost more money unless you go get somebody like Blake Corum out of the draft, who is somebody he's very familiar with."

via Ryan Leaf, Bleav in Chargers

Leaf is correct in cap space limitations play a huge factor in what players each team is able to secure high-level players. Still, the Chargers are likely to cut many of their high-cap space players like Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen. 

With Ekeler gone, the team will need a three-down back, and Barkley fits the bill. He is a tough and physical runner, one of which would fit into Harbaugh's new regime. 

Harbaugh has made every team he has joined more physical, and adding Barkley could jumpstart the run game. This would give Justin Herbert far more time to set up his big-time throws, which were lacking in the 2023 season.