Anytime you get knocked out of the top spot of anything, it’s probably gonna sting a little bit.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley experienced that in 2025 as he and his team were knocked off the top of the NFL mountain in their Super Bowl defense with an unceremonious exit in the NFC Wild Card Round.
Nowhere was that failure more pronounced than with Barkley and the run game, where his numbers were almost halved from 2024, when he became just the 9th player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season on the way to being named NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
ESPN’s annual position rankings, as voted on by league executives, coaches, and scouts dropped Barkley from No. 1 in 2025 down to No. 3 in the 2026 version, with 1 ballot even putting him as low as No. 8.
“Barkley proved how great he can be with a 2,000-yard season in 2024 behind Philly’s elite offensive line, resulting in last year’s No. 1 ranking,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 6. “But the Eagles’ line in 2025 was subpar by its standards. Barkley still produced 1,180 yards, but big gains were far less frequent. His four runs of 20-plus yards were 13 fewer than the previous year. His rushing yards over expected, as charted by NFL Next Gen Stats, went from second in the NFL in 2024 to 24th last season. Many voters did not knock him too harshly for that … Since 2024, Barkley ranks second in 100-plus-yard rushing games (14) behind Derrick Henry (17).”
Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson took the No. 1 spot in the rankings for the 1st time.
Saquon Barkley Predicted for ‘Nightmare Scenario’
Barkley seemed like a different player in 2025, going from 2,005 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 16 games in 2024 to 1,140 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. That included a gut-punch drop in yards per carry from 5.8 yards to 4.1 yards.
That regression is why Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon thinks Barkley could be at the center of a “Nightmare Scenario” for the Eagles in 2026.
“(The nightmare scenario is) Saquon Barkley continues to decline, exposing Jalen Hurts, who struggles mightily with Makai Lemon learning the ropes as A.J. Brown‘s de facto replacement,” Gagnon wrote.
Eagles Gave Saquon Barkley Record-Setting Contract
Just 1 year after signing Barkley to a 3-year, $37.75 million free-agent contract in March 2024, the Eagles made the unusual decision to re-up with him on a new deal.
That new contract, for 2 years and $42.1 million, made Barkley the highest-paid running back in NFL history and the first running back to earn over $20 million per season.
“Eagles are rewarding Saquon Barkley with a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, per sources,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on March 4, 2025. “The deal makes Barkley the NFL’s first $20 million+ per-year running back. Barkley also has the ability to earn an additional $15 million in incentives and escalators. The deal includes $36 million fully guaranteed at signing. The Eagles are taking the rare step of extending Barkley one year into his three-year deal — and in the same league year in which they signed him to the initial contract.”
Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, spent the 1st 6 seasons of his career with the New York Giants.
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