Eagles Today

NFL World Reacts After Saquon Barkley Crowned NFL's Best Player

The Philadelphia Eagles have a certified superstar on their hands...
Patrick McAvoy|
Aug 22, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Montrell Johnson Jr. (34) is greeted by running back Saquon Barkley (26) after scoring a rushing touchdown during the second half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Aug 22, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Montrell Johnson Jr. (34) is greeted by running back Saquon Barkley (26) after scoring a rushing touchdown during the second half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have the No. 1 player in the National Football League heading into the 2025 season.

The league has been unveiling its annual list of the top 100 players in the league and this year, it is Saquon Barkley at the top.

This is a big deal. The list is voted on by players across the league and so this just goes to show the perception of Barkley around the league. After the announcement, unsurprisingly, there was a lot of reactions on social media, and most were positive.

Saquon Barkley got plenty of positive buzz after ranking No. 1

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley
Aug 22, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) looks on before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images | Mark Smith-Imagn Images

The posts go on and on on social media with more coming seemingly each minute. Barkley's presence at the top of the list isn't too shocking from the perspective that he had a truly historic season in 2024. Barkley racked up over 2,000 rushing yards in the regular season and finished the season as the first running back in NFL history to top 2,500 rushing yards, including the postseason. No one has done that before and Barkley did so even with resting in Week 18 last year.

If the Eagles hadn't rested their starters, there's a real chance that Barkley could've broken the single-season rushing record. That's the type of pace he was on in his first season in Philadelphia.

Throughout the season in general, he got a lot of buzz, even outside of Philadelphia. Barkley put up video game numbers and seemingly had fans all over. It didn't hurt that he also hit the most iconic individual move of the 2024 season with his reverse hurdle against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

What Barkley did last year was special and he had the league on notice the entire time. Now, he's been rewarded with the top spot in the list and will have a tough task ahead of him as he tries to live up to the hype that the 2024 season brought. Barkley had one of the greatest seasons for a running back you will ever see last year. Can he top it this year?

More NFL: Eagles Announce 1st-Rounder To Active Roster, WR To Practice Squad

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also has an MBA from Brandeis University. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scottneville21@gmail.com

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