The Eagles seem to be landing all their top targets.
They’ve already landed perhaps their top target in the up-and-coming edge rusher Bryce Huff.
Now, it’s reported by Ian Rapoport that they’ve landed superstar running back Saquon Barkley.
Former #Giants star RB Saquon Barkley is planning to sign with the #Eagles, per me and @MikeGarafolo.
The former Penn St weapon lands in-state at a rival of the #Giants and stays in the NFC East. He’ll see his former team twice a year. pic.twitter.com/na7lcPzWD6
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2024
Barkley is from the south-east PA area and famously played his college ball at Penn State, so a large portion of his friends and family are in the area and root for the Eagles.
It’s no question that Barkley is an incredibly effective weapon and he should thrive far more in an Eagles offense with top offensive linemen and top receiving targets than he did in the Giants offense that lacked any other consistent standout talent around him.
It may be a stark departure from the Eagles typical idea to not value running backs in general, but the details of the deal have not been made public yet. Reports indicated that Barkley was willing to take less to play with the offensive line in Philly that would also bring him closer to his friends.
Barkley has three 1000 yard seasons under his belt and brings an effective blocker for the blitz as well as pass catcher. He can do it all. The only times he hasn’t been able to rush for 1,000 yards are seasons when he was limited in playing time by injuries.
The Eagles seem to be taking a risk that Barkley will see better health in an offense that he isn’t required to be on the field and getting the ball every other snap in order to keep offensive drives going.
Update: The deal is currently reported at three years, 37.75 million. That’d put the AAV at around $12.5M, which is the fourth highest in the league. It’s hard to argue that a healthy Saquon isn’t a top-five back, but it’s also surprising that the Eagles would commit that much money to the position and guarantee the reported $26 million at that.
BREAKING: Saquon Barkley is signing a three-year, $37.75M contract with the Eagles, per @AdamSchefter. pic.twitter.com/c19ssu4RC3
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 11, 2024
