Eagles' Saquon Barkley Message On The RB Position: 'If You Have Elite Players, Try Your Best To Keep Them

The Eagles' superstar was asked about elevating the RB position on Wednesday.

Feb 5, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley speaks with the media during a press conference at Hilton New Orleans Riverside. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

NEW ORLEANS -  On the verge of putting the punctuation on perhaps the greatest season ever for a running back in Super Bowl LIX, Saquon Barkley was asked about revitalizing his position in the league’s eyes.

“Shout out to Christian (McCaffrey),” Barkley said. “He’s the one who started that. You can see in San Fran, how much of a different team they are with Christian than without him.”

Barkley also alluded to Baltimore’s Derrick Henry and Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs as others who contributed to the perception that runners are back en vogue.

“For the guys who were pushed away, and had to get different contracts, we all found a spot and thrived and played well,” Barkley said. “I don’t really get caught up in what it does for the position.

“It just shows that you have an elite player at any position that can help you win.” 

Well-regarded Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio explained that the game has changed but the idea that RBs went away is a flawed one.

“The game is always changing,” Fangio noted. “... People don’t realize, they think it’s a passing league, and it is to a degree but my first three years in the NFL were 1986, ‘87, ‘88. You compare them to my last three years in the NFL, there’s only 4.5% more percent than there was back then. 

“To put that in perspective, so for every 20 plays, there’s one more pass. So, they’re still running the ball, they’re just doing it a different way. The fullback’s disappeared. There’s a second tight end who’s a good receiver or a third wideout on the field, so the fun game is a little different. But they’re still running the ball.”

What’s changed is the value of RBs to the league’s general managers.

And that’s what needs to change.

“It’s hard to find elite players. My message to teams is if you have elite players, try your best to keep them, or try to draft them,” Barkley said. 

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