Eagles Should Press Pause On the Hype Button For Big-Name Acquisition

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles haven’t been shy to explain what they think of Saquon Barkley.

The new Philadelphia running back was called “special” by Howie Roseman and the Eagles’ GM upped that ante by calling the former New York Giant star a Hall of Fame caliber talent, and person recently.

The biggest indicator of how enamored the Eagles are with Barkley is the investment they put into him, a three-year, $37.5 million contract, at a position the organization has consistently devalued in recent seasons.

The Eagles believe Barkley, is an outlier and the type of player where it's time to zig toward a market correction vs. everyone zagging to the position of the RBs-grow-on-trees sentiment Roseman himself helped create.

"It's hard to find difference-making players and people, and it's hard to find them for a cost," Roseman told Mad Dog Sports Radio. "Those guys, they go for a lot of money, and we felt like there was an opportunity to get one of those guys in Saquon and bring him to the team. We understand there's risk in every decision you make, but we don't think there's any risk on the talent.."

Behind the Eagles thinking is some hubris, however.

"We don't think there's any risk on the person. And we also feel like maybe -- not that it wasn't anywhere else -- but we have a good situation here with us in Philly to kind of maximize him.," Roseman explained. "I don't think there's anyone when he came out of the [2018] draft that didn't think he wasn't a Hall of Fame-caliber talent and person."

The loaded part to those comments is the presumption that the struggles in New York, where Barkley averaged just 3.9 yards per carry last season, were completely tied to his poor supporting cast, especially a disastrous quarterback position after Daniel Jones' injury and one of the NFL's worst offensive lines.

You can't have it both ways, though. Recently retired six-time All-Pro center Jason Kelce has said there are two players he played with who would have succeeded regardless of coaching, philosophy, scheme or the talent around him, including defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who also retired this offseason.

When reminded of those comments by Eagles Today during his retirement press conference, Cox explained his mindset.

"I had a teammate, who’s now a head coach in the NFL, DeMeco Ryans, and his words to me were you don’t let a scheme reflect what kind of player you are," Cox said. "He said great players find a way and that always stuck with me.

"No matter what scheme we were in, no matter where they told me to play, four-technique, 2I, 3-technique, move to a 5, it don’t matter. [Ryans] said don’t let that determine what kind of payer you are. You just go out and do your thing and they’ll find a way for you."

Rewind things to Barkley with Kellen Moore entering the equation.

The Eagles’ new offensive coordinator didn’t reach the heights of “Howie hyperbole,” but he wasn’t shy either, proclaiming Barkley as a “premier running back.”

“Saquon is a premier running back, first and foremost,” Moore said. “We're really excited about his ability to run the football. Obviously behind this offensive line, he's done a tremendous job. They have such cohesion and done a great job up front. He's going to be a great running back.”

The reason Barkley overwhelmed the Eagles’ typical valuation of the position, however, is his projected impact in the passing game. The Philadelphia brass believes Barkley is a true three-down back who will be a standout as a receiver and in pass protection.

“We know the aspects that make him great. It's his ability to be a great pass protector, to be a receiver out of the backfield,” Moore said. “He does a phenomenal job with those things.”

Perhaps the Eagles are cognizant Barkley neeeds to be rebuilt to a degree after playing with a poor supporting cast with the Giants.

That said, those doing the talking right now might want to consider pumping the brakes on the hype.

Let things unfold before crowning a player who never lived up to the hype of being the No. 2 overall pick six years ago in a league that moves incredibly fast.

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