Projecting Saquon Barkley's Best Fantasy Football Stat Weeks in 2020

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is a lock to go in the top five picks of just about every fantasy draft this season, and, barring injury disaster, he should be penciled in as a starter so long as he's on the field for the Giants.

But there are some matchups on the Giants' schedule that offer better fantasy potential for Barkley than others.

If you happen to be lucky enough to draft Barkley for your fantasy football team, here are a few games in which Barkley's fantasy football value could fly off the charts.

Weeks 12 at Cincinnati

Barkley will be fresh off his bye week when the Giants travel to Cincinnati in Week 12 to take on a Bengals defense that ranked at the bottom of the league against the run in 2019.

Last year, opposing running backs averaged 20.62 fantasy points per game against the Bengals run defense, which was headed by defensive tackle Geno Atkins and defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

Both Atkins and Dunlap are top-tier players at their positions, but there are questions regarding the rest of the Bengals run defense, most notably the linebackers.

Veteran middle linebacker Josh Bynes, signed in free agency, has had questions about his speed, particularly in tracking down running backs in open space.

Rookie Akeem Davis-Gaither, whom the Bengals drafted in the fourth round of this year's draft, is a fast and athletic tackler but can be over-aggressive to where a shifty runner like Barkley could have little trouble in breaking away.

Barkley is a threat to break off for a big play whenever he gets past the line of scrimmage and into the second level. If the Giants offensive line can open up the holes and get the third-year running back to the second level, the potential production could make a lot of people very happy.

Weeks 6 & 9 vs. Washington

Washington finished second to the Bengals in 2019 for worst run defense in the league, allowing an average of 22.75 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs.

The ceiling for potential improvement in Washington's run defense is very high based on their personnel, especially after the drafting of defensive end Chase Young with the second overall pick in this year's draft.

Young, combined with Montez Sweat, Da'Ron Payne, and Jonathan Allen, gives Washington four first-round picks on their defensive line, not including second-level defenders Ryan Kerrigan and Matt Ioannidis.

But even before Young's arrival, Barkley has had his way against that front so far in his career. His two best career games came at FedEx Field when he recorded 197 all-purpose yards in 2018 and 279 all-purpose yards (with two touchdowns) last year's Week 16 overtime thriller.

Besides Young, Washington added long-time Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis Sr. The 37-year-old Davis Sr. brings veteran experience. Still, it's fair to wonder how much Davis has left in the tank.

Davis, who spent last season with the Chargers, didn't make that much of a difference in their run defense as Los Angeles dropped from ninth in the NFL against the run in 2018 before Davis' arrival to 18th a year later.

Washington's defensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio, knows a thing or two about being the beneficiary of elite talent. During his stint as the Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach (1999 to 2001), the Ravens' historic 2000 defense allowed just 980 rushing yards and 165 points, both of which are NFL records.

But don't underestimate the Giants' new leadership in which Jason Garrett will be in charge of the offense. Garrett's Cowboys ground game has historically enjoyed success against Washington.

Under Garrett's, the Cowboys offense averaged over 200 rushing yards against Washington in both meetings in 2019.

While this is not the same old Washington defense, Barkley's past success combined with Garrett's running game concepts are certainly enough reason to think that the running back could be in for a very productive day in each meeting.

Week 15 vs. Cleveland

Cleveland's defense finished just ahead of Cincinnati and Washington in run defense last year after allowing 21.50 fantasy points per game.

Like Washington, the Browns have a new defensive coordinator. Joe Woods was most recently a defensive backs coach, but he's said to be creative enough to rejuvenate the Browns' run defense.

Like Washington, the Browns defensive line is one of the roster's greatest strengths from a talent perspective, but it just didn't translate into effective run defense last season.

Defensive end Myles Garrett graded as the best defensive lineman on the team last season by PFF. Opposite of Garrett is former Giant Olivier Vernon on the opposite side, who posted a 92.9 grade against the run in Cleveland's games against the Seahawks and Patriots.

Larry Ogunjabi and Sheldon Richardson project to be Cleveland's two starting defensive tackles this year, but neither didn't exactly live up to their potential in stopping the run last season.

Richardson put up a career-low four tackles for loss in his first season with the Browns in 2019 while Ogunjobi played better as a pass rusher while still only receiving a 60.2 run defense grade.

Cleveland's starting linebacking core is also unsettled ahead of training camp. Second-year linebacker Mack Wilson is in the mix to earn the starting middle linebacker job.

Wilson has the lateral quickness to keep Barkley from breaking outside, but he doesn't always apply it, his inconsistency resulting in a 41.7 run defense grade last season.

Former Giants B.J. Goodson signed with the Browns this season and brought a hard-hitting toughness as a run defense specialist. Last year with the Packers, who acquired Goodson in a trade with the Giants, Goodson only made nine starts and didn't record any tackles for loss.

Barkley could find some daylight in the middle of the Browns defense, especially if he gets out in space.