Saquon Barkley, Giants' brightest spot during 1-7 start, has level-headed approach
Giants running back Saquon Barkley runs a reception for a first down in the second quarter against the Redskins' Zach Brown during a game at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 28. Credit: Jim McIsaac
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
The mindset is brilliant in its simplicity.
Saquon Barkley can spend all the time he wants watching tape to try to find keys to opposing defenses, as well as his team’s blocking schemes and tendencies. He can spend hours in the weight room maintaining his finely sculpted physique. And he can take every tip — no matter how seemingly insignificant — from his coaches.
But what it really comes down to for the Giants’ rookie running back has almost nothing to do with the intellectual and physical preparation for game day.
“Trusting myself” is how Barkley puts it.
If there’s one truth to Barkley’s game, it is that.
“I’m big on watching film and sometimes it hurts me, because I overcalculate things or I overthink sometimes,” he said. “So try not to do that and trust yourself. Play the game and play the position I’ve been playing since I was a little kid.”
It is so breathtakingly basic and so stunningly straightforward that Barkley need not even think about what is at the core of his motivation. Yet it isn’t always easy to reach his center, not with the swirl of information required to play running back at the highest level of his sport and not with the burden of expectation placed upon a player taken with the second overall pick.
But as Barkley returns with his teammates from a bye week after a brutal 1-7 start, this is where he will begin the second half of his rookie season: from within.
“Just being myself, that’s the best advice that I got coming into my rookie year and that’s something I’m going to continue to try to do is be myself and be vocal, play hard and compete,” he said. “The rest will take care of itself.”
By virtually every measurable indication, Barkley is doing just fine. In fact, it’s better than fine. He’s on pace to run for 1,000 yards in his first season and has scored seven touchdowns — five rushing and two receiving. His 58 catches are second among NFL running backs and he’s second in percentage of a team’s total rushing and passing yards (33.2 percent).
Other than Odell Beckham Jr., who is having a productive season after returning from an ankle injury, Barkley is the best thing about the Giants’ offense.
That may not be saying much, considering that the team’s failure to score points is at the root of their miserable season. But Barkley clearly is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Still, he thinks he can do more. He demands it from himself.
“There’s always room for improvement,” he said. “I think everyone on this team can get better. I’m always going to have room to improve, and that’s what drives you and that’s what makes you compete to try and get better.”
Barkley’s first year with the Giants has taken place during a time of transition for an offense that likely will be moving on from Eli Manning in the not-too-distant future. Coach Pat Shurmur hasn’t guaranteed anything past Monday night’s game against the 49ers, and this could be the last we see of Manning as the team’s starting quarterback.
If he finds his scoring touch against the 49ers, Manning will forestall any immediate change. But Shurmur’s unwillingness to look beyond Monday night is a telling indication of his readiness to move on.
Barkley clearly is an integral part of the team’s future, and his credentials put him in position to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. But no matter how much he produces, his talents won’t amount to much in the larger scheme of things.
The Giants therefore hope they can quickly rebuild around Barkley, especially when he’s still on his rookie contract. Barkley already is among the NFL’s most-highly-paid runners, and in a league in which running backs have been devalued, it might be prohibitively expensive to keep him.
Then again, Barkley might make that decision easy. As long as he keeps performing like this, it might be too costly to let him go.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
