Dynasty Scouts Player Profile: Saquon Barkley
While the running back position has been floundering at the NFL level for a few years now, hope remains with the rookie class of 2015 and the next wave of college prospects. Before the season started, the list began and ended with Nick Chubb, Ezekiel Elliott, and Leonard Fournette. Some may argue about a few others such as: Derrick Henry, James Conner, Corey Clement, but they were a clear tier down. Expectations have shifted with the season in progress due to performance and injury (I still have a heavy heart for Nick Chubb). Fournette has taken off to superstar status, Conner and Clement have been injured for most of the season and Henry has taken another step in his development. But one player has captured my attention on only 68 NCAA carries so far into his career. Choo Choo, I just started the bandwagon for Saquon Barkley. As Jerry Maguire said it best, “Who’s coming with me?”
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5’11” 222 lbs
He was listed at 210 lbs coming out of high school – the increased weight gain is a huge bonus for his NFL prospects. I like my running backs to be over 215 lbs so they can withstand the workload and abuse. Barkley is already at 222 lbs and could add more weight over the next two and a half years. Most of his weight is carried in his lower half and I expect him to chisel out at around 225 lbs.
4 star recruit
The 11th best running back in the nation according to Rivals coming out of HS, Barkley was a decorated recruit. After he committed to Penn State, I ranked him fifth in my devy report.
2/7/97 18 years old
Dynasty owners are paying more attention to ages of players. For comparisons sake, Fournette was 18.5 years old in High School and Barkley is 18.5 his freshman season in college. The extra year matters to some owners because of the short shelf life of running backs. I like to look at body development and production in regards to age. If a player is performing great at a young age, it says a lot more versus a player who’s much older than the competition.
Statistics
2015: 68 attempts for 567 yards 8.3 average 3 touchdowns, 1 reception for 21 yards 1 touchdown
That’s a very impressive yards per carry average for Barkley on the season, but I’m sure most didn’t expect him to average 7.5 yards per carry against Ohio State this past weekend. He sprained his ankle against San Diego State which forced him to miss the rest of the game, as well as the next two contests.
Analysis
After watching most of his touches in 2015, I came away extremely impressed. For a player his size, he has elite quickness and agility to make defenders miss. Most often Barkley uses a pressure cut or spin move with great success to leave defenders in the dust. If he doesn’t find away around, he will jump over would be tacklers and has done it on several occasions. Barkley can string together multiple broken tackles in a row and it often leads to big plays. His ability to make defenders miss is in the special category for big backs – it’s the main reason I am so high on his NFL potential.
However, there are times he dances too much instead of lowering his shoulder for more yardage. This is the same concern I had when watching his HS film, but he has become more decisive in college. He isn’t afraid of contact but Barkley’s running style reveals he would rather avoid defenders. But let’s be honest, he is simply playing to his strengths in being good at avoiding defenders.
One of his weaknesses is a lack of power running the football, which is odd for a player his size. He can bounce off of defenders at times, but many times he fails to gain many yards after he lowers his shoulder. It perplexes me because it doesn’t make sense for him to not have much power. However, this has happened multiple times and maybe he can correct it in the weight room over the next few years. Barkley displays good effort when running the football, which leads him to not give up on runs. Some runners will look to be tackled at the second level or down the field. This is not the case with Barkley, who looks to cut inside rather than stepping out of bounds for a few more yards. The FF community loves speed with running backs and Barkley doesn’t disappoint in this area. He runs in the mid 4.4 range for a 40-yard dash. Good burst gets him to top speed quickly to create separation from defenders. His long speed is inconsistent, but still above average for a player weighing 222 lbs.
NFL Comparison
Le’Veon Bell, RB PIT
This comparison isn’t to the college version of Bell but rather the slimmed down 2014 and beyond player. Both possess good size, great quickness and burst, combined with a very good ability to break tackles. Bell has great hands and I haven’t seen enough pass catching from Barkley to make a determination.
Devy RB Ranking = 3
Only Chubb and Fournette would be ahead of Barkley for running backs on my current list. I would actually lean towards Barkley over Elliott due to his agility and burst. I think Elliott has a higher floor, but I go with ceilings in devy and Barkley’s is much higher. He is higher than Henry and Dalvin Cook as well, despite how well they’re playing this season.
Overall
Running backs with superstar ceilings are hard to come by in fantasy football. Barkley is on pace for one of the best freshman seasons ever if he can keep it up. Even if he falls off one yard per carry, he’s still among the leaders. He jumps off the film as the best player on the field and he’s only a freshman. If the stats say he’s special and the film reveals he’s special, well i’ll let you draw your own conclusions. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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Nick can be found on Twitter at @_NickWhalen
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