Running back Saquon Barkley is not only the most talented member of the New York Giants and arguably the best back in football, he’s also one of the best all-around players in the NFL when healthy.
Oh, and Barkley is also just 23 years of age.
That means for at least two more seasons, Barkley will make appearances on annual “Under-25” lists and teams, which is exactly what he did this week when he showed up on The Athletic’s All Under-25 Squad alongside Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey.
RB1: Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
RB2: Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
Ezekiel Elliott and Alvin Kamara are aging out of consideration with birthdays this month, and Dalvin Cook will join them when his 25th birthday arrives in August. The position remains in very good hands, however. McCaffrey has one more full season before turning 25. Barkley has two. Hall of Famers populate the all-time list for rushing yardage gained before age 25, with a notable exception at the very top. Clinton Portis holds the record with 5,930. He also holds the record for scrimmage yards with 7,059 — only 35 ahead of Elliott. McCaffrey should be able to overtake Portis atop the list for scrimmage yards gained before age 25 if the pandemic allows for a full season. He trails Portis by 1,616 yards after gaining more than 2,300 last season.
While no other Giant made The Athletic’s squad (or any other Under-25 list this year), a couple did receive a shout-out this time around.
Giants left guard Will Hernandez (24) “just missed” making the cut along the offensive line, while Lorenzo Carter (24) earned an “honorable mention” at linebacker.
At this time next year, it will be interesting to see if players like Dexter Lawrence, Xavier McKinney, Andrew Thomas and Daniel Jones make the cut.
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