At this moment, Saquon Barkley is currently one of two in the NFL. Along with the Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, Barkley is the only other active running back with a 2,000-yard season under his belt.
Barkley’s big accomplishment came four years after Henry’s. It was the first time the Philadelphia Eagles star reached that level. Therefore, he’s entering a new season with plenty of miles on him from his latest run.
One would assume that Barkley might reach out to Henry or one of the other 2K rushers from the past to land some advice on how to approach the follow-up year, but the Eagles’ star decided to trust his own team of experts behind the scenes instead.
“We (Henry and Barkley) always keep in touch here and there on social media, but I didn’t really reach out to him or any of the guys who rushed for 2,000 to see what they did for their body for the next year,” Barkley told reporters on Wednesday.
“I kind of got a great team here, whether it’s my team, within the organization, and in the building, or outside of this building, and just follow the game plan that they mapped out for me this offseason. I’m going to continue to follow that game plan throughout the season.”
During Barkley’s run with the New York Giants, he took on plenty of carries year after year. In six seasons, he exceeded over 200 carries four times. With the Eagles, he not only went for well over 300 carries, but he also led the entire NFL with 345 rushes.
It’s hard to blame the Eagles for putting the miles on Barkley, considering he was averaging a career-high 5.8 yards per carry throughout the year. His previous high was during his rookie season, when he averaged five yards, going for over 1,300 yards in 16 games back in 2018.
When Henry exceeded the 2,000-yard mark in 2020, he did it on 378 carries in 16 games with the Tennessee Titans. Unfortunately, he played in just half of the Titans’ games during the following year. A Jones fracture during Week 8 ended Henry’s season abruptly. He wrapped up the year with 937 yards on 219 carries.
The good news is that Henry managed to bounce back in 2022 and beyond. Since his shortened season in 2021, Henry has surpassed 1,000 yards in each of the next three years, even leading the NFL in total carries twice. Last year, he even teased a 2K year with 1,921 yards.
Still, Barkley wants to keep his preparation for next year in-house. Health will be the key to his success. Fortunately, he’s been just fine in that department since linking with the Eagles last year.
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