Eagles' RB2 Role Could Be Layered

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles have the best running back in football coming off the best season in NFL history.

Saquon Barkley's almost unfathomable 2,504 rushing yards through a Super Bowl LIX championship was the most ever and the superstar was the league's Offensive Player of the Year, a first-team All-Pro and a finalist for MVP.

The Eagles rewarded Barkley, 28, with a big-money extension to kick his shelf life back to at least 2027 as the lead back in Philadelphia.

However, there is a stark reality for NFL running backs who touch the football as much as Barkley did last season (482 times, including the postseason), so the RB2 role is something the Eagles have to take seriously.

By Year 4 of his career, Kenny Gainwell had certainly earned the trust of head coach Nick Siranni and quarterback Jalen Hurts as Barkley's backup, but free agency beckoned and the Memphis product headed west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for Pittsburgh.

And that means either 2024 fourth-round pick Will Shipley or veteran free agent A.J. Dillon, who is coming off a lost season due to stinger issues, has to fill a void.

All indications from the team are that Shipley is Plan A as a shifty runner with juice who also has some skills in the passing game as a receiver. As a rookie, Shipley also was a part-time kick returner, but his highlight was a 57-yard run in the NFC Championship Game, a chunk of real estate that Gainwell never reached in his four seasons in Philadelphia.

Dillon is intriguing because of his size (6-foot and 247 pounds), a player nicknamed Quadzilla because of the quads of his massive lower body.

From a strategy standpoint, Shipley offers more of a change-up to Barkley's style in-game, but Dillon, if healthy, is the back better equipped for 20 carries.

That may mean that the Eagles' backup RB position will be layered with Shipley being the guy if Barkley is around to carry the load, and Dillon hopping over the Clemson product if Barkley is forced to miss a game or two due to injury.

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