New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, hampered by a high-ankle sprain last year, has been predicted to have a bounce-back season and lead the NFL in rushing in 2020.
In an article predicting the 2020 stat leaders in the NFL by Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report, Barkley is on course to gain 1,495 yards. That will be enough for the league’s rushing title, besting Carolina Panthers running back, Christian McCaffrey (1,402).
“In 2019, the Penn State product battled an ankle injury, missed three games and struggled with the “psychological toll” of the ailment, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic,” cites Moton. “Between his first two seasons, Barkley’s rushing total dropped from 1,307 to 1,003 yards. Assuming he’s overcome the mental hardship of his ankle injury, the third-year veteran could revert to his nimble rookie form.”
Other factors that will contribute to Barkley’s resurgence are the addition of first-round pick Andrew Thomas at tackle and the running scheme of new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, the former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys who featured a powerful running game.
“According to head coach Joe Judge (h/t NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones), the Giants will run an offense that’s similar to the Cowboys’ scheme under Garrett,” writes Moton. “Each season between 2016 and 2019, Dallas ranked top 10 in rush attempts. The Giants could feature Barkley like the Cowboys did Ezekiel Elliott when he won two rushing titles (2016 and 2018).”
Barkley’s stats in 2019 weren’t much different than that his rookie season. He missed the majority of the Giants’ Week 3 win over Tampa, leaving the game with the ankle injury, and then sat out the next three weeks.
He was not the same explosive player when he returned in Week 7. It took until Week 15 for him to break the 100-yard mark again in a game.
All in all, Barkley’s numbers were just slightly down. He still averaged 4.6 yards per carry as opposed to 5.0 in 2018 and 77.2 YPG vs 81.7 in 2018.
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