Fantasy Football Dynasty Startup Mock Draft: Saquon Barkley (Pick 1.10)

It's easy for fantasy football managers to take players in their later twenties and cross them off their dynasty big boards. That's especially true in the first round and at running back.

While it's important not to overdraft aging players, we don't recommend eliminating the possibility of drafting them entirely. Aging running backs have strongly proven in recent years that they can still be elite fantasy producers as veterans.

No one proved that more than Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley during the 2024 NFL season.

With the No. 10 selection of a 2025 PPR dynasty startup league draft, I would recommend selecting Barkley.

Pick 1.10: RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Barkley was often an elite fantasy running back with the New York Giants. But he also experienced seasons of low efficiency in the struggling Giants offense and injury issues.

The stars all aligned in Barkley's first season with the Eagles, though, as he became the ninth NFL running back in history with a 2,000-yard rushing season. If not for sitting out Week 18, Barkley could have broken the single-season rushing record.

As it was, he ran for 2,005 rushing yards and gained 2,283 yards from scrimmage. Barkley led the league in both categories.

Philadelphia's "tush push" prevented Barkley from scoring more touchdowns. However, the veteran running back still tied a career-best with 15 scores. He hadn't reached the end zone that many times since his rookie 2018 campaign.

Barkley turned 28 years old days before the Super Bowl. Because of that age, Barkley shouldn't be a top half of the first-round pick in dynasty formats. But he's still a great option in the latter part of the first round with proper team building.

Any fantasy manager needs to recognize that drafting Barkley as their RB1 means they are immediately in "win now mode." That doesn't mean draft all players in their latter twenties. But it does mean that when in doubt, draft players that will help fantasy lineups immediately instead of down the road.

With Barkley, fantasy managers also need to develop a succession plan at RB1 faster than managers who draft Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round.

Barkley has the potential to outscore those two young stars again in 2025. The long-term upside isn't there, but that should be fine if fantasy managers pair Barkley with a much younger RB2 or add a stable of rookie backs on the bench that are "in waiting" to replace the Eagles star.

With any luck, Barkley can lead a new dynasty manager to a championship before his decline begins.

Prior to Barkley at No. 10 overall, here's the rest of my 2025 dynasty startup mock draft:

No. 1: Cincinnati Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase
No. 2: Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson
No. 3: Dallas Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb
No. 4: Atlanta Falcons' Bijan Robinson
No. 5: New York Giants' Malik Nabers
No. 6: Detroit Lions' Jahmyr Gibbs
No. 7: Detroit Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown
No. 8: Los Angeles Rams' Puka Nacua
No. 9: Jacksonville Jaguars' Brian Thomas