Saquon Barkley Considered Top NFL Running Back Per ESPN Poll

Giants running back Saquon Barkley is No. 1.

That the opinion of a poll conducted by one of the NFL broadcast partners in their ranking of the league's top running backs last year.

For all Barkley has been able to accomplish—two straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and who has generated a whopping 68% of his rushing yardage after contact, NFL talent evaluators and personnel who participated in the network's poll ranked him as the league’s No. 1 running back ahead of Carolina’s Christian McCaffery (second), Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott (third), and the Saints’ Alvin Kamara (fourth).

That ranking was despite Barkley having an “off” year last season due to a high ankle sprain suffered in Week 3.

While there is no disputing that Barkley is a generational type of talent, that he would earn such a high ranking considering his use in the previous coaching staff’s offense is something of a surprise.

Former head coach Pat Shurmur seemed to love the inside zone runs, which, thanks mainly to the inconsistency of the Giants interior offensive line last year, resulted in 25 of Barkley’s rushing attempts (out of 137 runs in between the guards or 18.2%) for zero or negative yardage.

So imagine what kind of praise Barkley is going to get if new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, as many are expecting, includes some outside zone runs, and lines Barkley up around the formation as a receiver, where one NFC executive, in the poll, said the former Penn State star, "Can score from anywhere on the field."

We’ve been hoping that the Giants figure out a way to work Barkley smarter vs. harder to ensure he beats the projected 3.3-year average career length for a running back.

Sure, go ahead and give him the ball—to not do so is a waste of a valuable resource. Instead of having him pound and scratch and claw his way for yardage as he often had to do with inside zone plays, some more outside zone rushes combined with some more receiving opportunities could help the third-year running back have his most productive season yet.