No free agent in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL had the impact that Saquon Barkley achieved for the organization last season.
More than 2,000 rushing yards in his first season, including an NFL single-season rushing record, including playoffs, plus a Super Bowl ring, proved the importance of Barkley to the defending champions.
Now, as the team nears the return of preseason training, the All-Pro can finally talk about some of the greatest players of all time in his position.
Attention! They are not Walter Payton, Jim Brown or Emmitt Smith
“Barry (the Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders) is my favorite. He’s my favorite running back of all time,” Barkley said on an episode of Hot Ones
“When I was little, I wore the number 20, ran around the field and they called me ‘Little Barry’. At that moment, I went to my dad and asked, ‘Who are they talking about?’. He sat me down and made me look on YouTube, and that’s when I fell in love with Barry Sanders as a running back.
It’s easy to understand why Barkley wanted to become Sanders. His big-play ability, especially during the 2024 season, was one of the most dominant seasons in league history for a running back.
Many fans of the former Detroit Lions star believed he would have ended up as the greatest running back of all time if he had run behind an offensive lineman like Emmitt Smith, his friend and contemporary, had with the Dallas Cowboys.
Barkley can also be considered in that path. And as things stand, the Eagles are very happy to have their all-time running back on the field.
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