Jeremy Fowler does that ESPN poll every summer. They ask league executives, coaches, scouts, etc to rank the best 10 players at every position, and then we all argue about it on Twitter.

Interestingly enough, this nugget appeared at the bottom of the top 10 running backs list, in the honorable mentions section (bold emphasis mine) –

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants: Barkley was No. 1 on this list two years ago, but his decline has been precipitous. Injuries have cost him 22 games over four seasons, but that’s hardly the only issue with his game. In 2021, he produced just 593 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 162 carries. “I’m down on him — he still doesn’t know how to play running back enough,” a veteran NFL offensive coach said. “He’s a bouncer. He wants every run to be a home run. He’s going to have to learn that 4-yard runs in this league are good, instead of stopping, cutting it back and losing 2. And he gets his ass kicked in protection.”

Well now. Those are some damning words! It’s the same thing we talked about with Miles Sanders, wasn’t it? Guy trying to bounce everything to the outside when sometimes putting your head down ala Jordan Howard will suffice. Three yards and a cloud of dust! Hard-nosed football!

Barkley is only 25 and played 13 games last year. He was the ROTY a few years back, so maybe he rebounds this season, but who knows? God willing, the Giants will absolutely stink and the Eagles will mop the floor with them while Barkley struggles.

Go Birds.