The Philadelphia Eagles made a big change in 2024.
After rolling with D’Andre Swift as the team’s running back in 2023, the Eagles switched things up and signed Saquon Barkley in free agency after he spent the beginning of this career as a member of the New York Giants. The Eagles were familiar with him after being on the opposite side of the field.
With Barkley in town, the Eagles utilized him, for sure. Barkley led the National Football League with 345 carries. That led to an eye-popping 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season across 16 games. In the postseason, Barkley had another 91 carries. Overall, the Eagles superstar made history by finishing as the first running back in National Football League history to rack up 2,500 rushing yards or more across an entire season, including the playoffs.
Barkley is a superstar and putting him behind a top-tier offensive line made him nuclear to opposing defenses. One thing that was interesting about his production in 2024, though, was a drop-off in the passing game.
Barkley had 43 targets — the fewest of his career in which he played at least 13 games. The young playmaker had 278 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. As a rookie back in 2018, Barkley had 91 catches and 721 receiving yards. That just is a sign that there’s room for even more growth in his game and it sounds like Barkley’s willing to make a change.
Could Saquon Barkley have an even bigger year in 2025 for the Eagles?
Barkley recently was asked about the passing game and made it clear that getting more targets is something is comfortable with.
“”It’s something that I’m really comfortable with, something that I did especially early on in my career. And I’ve got to be able to adapt,” Barkley said. “It’s got to look different. What different looks like, I don’t know, but I’ve got to be effective in many ways and that’s in pass pro, that’s catching the ball, that’s running the ball, that’s leading. The only thing that matters is winning football games. ‘Whatever I can do to help,’ that’s my mindset.”
This is a great idea. With Barkley getting as many carries as he did last year, there’s already been buzz out there about how the team could utilize him to keep him fresh. Less carries and more catches is one option.
