Saquon: ‘I want to be the best of all-time’

Saquon: ‘I want to be the best of all-time’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Saquon Barkley dreams big. Real big.

“I want to be the best of all-time,” Barkley said after practice Sunday.

And maybe he’s in a place now where he can chase after those kind of dreams.

It’s not easy to be the best of all-time when you’re playing for a team that never wins and doesn’t have any good players.

By leaving the Giants and signing with the Eagles, Barkley moves from a team with the 4^th-worst record and one playoff win since he was a rookie in 2018 to a team that’s been in the playoffs five of the last six years and has reached two Super Bowls the last seven years.

He leaves a team that’s had three offensive Pro Bowlers since 2018 to a team that’s had 21.

“Not trying to sound cocky or anything like that, but the tape speaks for itself,” Barkley said. “I’m just trying to elevate on that. Trying to expand on my game. I feel like I’ve done a lot of great things in this league, even with battling through injuries, I felt like I made a name for myself, and I feel like in this offense and with the guys I have around me, I’m going to continue to be able to do that.”

The Giants were 34-64-1 in Barkley’s six years, and only three teams won fewer games from 2018 through 2023 (the Jaguars, Jets and Panthers). Barkley had a grand total of one Pro Bowl offensive teammate since 2019, tight end Evan Engram in 2020.

Now, for the first time since his rookie year, when he played alongside Odell Beckham Jr., Barkley is in an offense where opposing defenses have other people to worry about.

And it’s going to be fun to see what Barkley is capable of playing in an offense with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts and behind an elite offensive line.

“I just want to be great, man, that’s it,” Barkley said. “I just want to take it to the highest level I can take it, and that’s my goal. Will (Shipley) asked me the other day, ‘What keeps you going?’ That’s the same answer I gave him. That’s where I want to be. That’s where I want to go. I’m not going to stop, I’m going to keep trying.

“And sometimes the reality is a lot of  people don’t reach their full potential, but at the end of the day I know if I put my all into it and I don’t reach it when it’s all said and done I can still be happy.”

Despite missing most of the 2020 season and 25 games in all since he was a rookie, Barkley has 5,211 rushing yards, 288 catches, 7,311 scrimmage yards and 47 touchdowns in 74 career games.

He’s one of only seven backs with 5,000 rushing yards, 275 catches and 45 touchdowns in his first 74 games. The others are Chuck Foreman, Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James, LaDainian Tomlinson and Le’Veon Bell.

To be in the conversation as one of the best ever, Barkley will have to stay healthy and string together a number of monster seasons.

Barkley knows that. He’s something of a running back historian. He grew up watching Hall of Famers like Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders and Walter Payton and has also studied more recent guys like Marshall Faulk, LaDanian Tomlinson and his contemporary, Christian McCaffrey.

He thinks Payton is the best ever – “All-around, tough, great pass pro, in between the tackles, outside, you’ve got to go Walter.”

Among active running backs, Barkley’s 7,311 scrimmage yards are 4^th-most by a player before his 27^th birthday, behind Ezekiel Elliott – who also played in Kellen Moore’s offense – McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara.

“I’ve never really modeled myself after anyone,” he said. “I always try to watch as much as I can. I’ve (watched) all the great backs that my dad would keep me aware of, whether it was Barry, whether it’s Walter, I was watching Todd Gurley the other day, I was watching Zeke, obviously Zeke’s been in his offense before. LaDanian Thompson, Marshall Faulk, just try to watch all those guys.

“I feel like God’s blessed me with unbelievable talent the size that I am. … I get to move like a little guy, get to run like a big guy. So try to put all that added to my tool belt.

“It’s kind of hard to say (who’s the best ever), so in my mind, it’s come out every single day, try to be the best version of myself, kind of have that Mamba mentality, push myself every single day, go out there and try to win games, compete at the highest level, win championships and when it’s all said and done, when I look back, hopefully, you guys decide that and I’m mentioned in that category.”

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