Eagles RB Saquon Barkley: Is No. 4 Ranking Justified As This Could Be Final Season In Philly?

Saquon Barkley is still elite.

One of the best players on the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley is going to be the one that makes the offense go. No matter how innovative offensiev coordinator Sean Mannion is.

This is an offense that is going to be dependant on the run game. For the offense to succeed, the offensive line needs to be healthy and Barkley needs to get going.

As Barkley heads into a crucial year for both him and the Eagles, there's certainly questions that will be asked regarding his future. This will be asked whether Barkley performs well this season or not.

This season could be Barkley's last in an Eagles uniform based on how his contract is structured. No matter what lies ahead for Barkley, the Eagles need close to the 2024 varient of Barkley in order to make another Super Bowl run.

They may get it this year, as Barkley is the No. 4 player on the Eagles On SI Top-25 list. A big season may be in store.

Barkley didn't have the same success last year

Asking Barkley to come anywhere close to his numbers in 2024 were impossible, given the history of 2,000-yard running backs and how they performed the following season.

Barkley wasn't horrible last season on the surface. He had 280 carries for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games (sat out the Week 18 finale with the resst of the starters). Numbers were going to dip, but the biggest drop off was yards per carry (5.8 to 4.1) and rushing yards per game 125.3 to 71.3).

The advanced numbers were a cause for concern. Barkley had a success rate of 45.0% on his carries, 41st amongst NFL running backs last season. He was 24th in yards before contact per rush (1.36), and 38th in yards after contract per rush (2.71). This is out of 49 qualified rushers.

There was always going to be a drop off, but the Eagles need to find a happy medium with their superstar running back in 2026.

Could this really be it for Barkley in Philly?

Barkley's contract is an interesting one, especially since the Eagles gave him an extension after his historic year. This was an interesting decision by the Eagles, a "thank you" of sorts for arguably the greatest season by any player in Eagles history.

A decision is looming with Barkley after this season, and there are a few avenues the Eagles can take.

Barkley has $16,750,000 in guaranteed salary for the 2026 season, with a cap number of $9,881,100 (per Over the Cap). Barkley has just $2.5 million in guaranteed money and a cap number of $13,057,100 for 2027.

Philadelphia would actually save $5,066,100 by designating Barkley as a post-June 1 cut . The Eagles would eat $3,540,900 in cap space as a pre-June 1 cut. This is one of the options the Eagles could take.

The Eagles could also restructure the contract and save just $200,000 in cap space to keep Barkley around. Barkley's contract ends after the 2028 season, so the Eagles could still keep him around until he's 31.

There's plenty of time for the Eagles to get creative here, but Barkley making $20.6 million a season after the Eagles gave him new money was an interesting call.

If Barkley goes down-- Tank Bigsby the guy?

The Eagles have another top-25 player ready to step in in case Barkley has to miss time in Bigsby.

Bigsby had 58 carries for 344 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games with the Eagles last season, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. He made the most of his opportunity at the end of the season -- having 39 carries for 176 yards and two touchdowns in the final four games (4.5 yards per carry).

Barkley is going to get a heavy workload again, due to his contract. If he needs a few plays or has to miss time, the Eagles should have Bigsby ready to go.

Why we ranked Barkley here

Brakley finished at No. 4 based on a final vote tally from the three Eagles on SI voters: Publisher/Editor Jeff Kerr, insider John McMullen, and writer Ed Kracz. Barkley finished with 15 points, on a scale where the lowest points wins.

Kerr voted Barkley 4th, while McMullen went 7th and Kracz had him 4th.

Here are where the other Eagles on the top-25 list landed. Three players to go.

No. 5 -- Jalen Carter (17 points)

No. 6 -- Zack Baun (17 points)

No. 7 -- DeVonta Smith (19 points)

No. 8 -- Jordan Mailata (22 points)

No. 9 -- Jalen Hurts (26 points)

No. 10 -- Jordan Davis (30 points)

No. 11 -- Landon Dickerson (33 points)

No. 12 -- Jonathan Greenard (34 points)

No. 13 -- Dallas Goedert (40 points)

No. 14 -- Moro Ojomo (46 points)