NGT - To what extent will you be rooting for Saquon this year?

[MightyGiants]

I think there's also a good number of folks in the fanbase that are still stung by Barkley essentially being right all along about his worth on the market and pretty much everyone else being wrong.  Even the bitcoin thing he took so much slack for looks to have bounced back in a huge way (if he even stuck with it...who knows). 

And Rich- I have an awful feeling that the hype train is not going to be the only thing to worry about when Barkley comes to town.  My gut having watched him for many years is that he's going to want to ring it up against us because of all the silly fan vitriol that's been spewed his way (and I think the Eagles staff, being the a-holes they are, will absolutely work to accommodate this happening).  So, that's definitely my bigger worry when he comes back to town. 

As for me- no surprises here, I'm hoping he finally gets a creative OC and a solid OL to run behind- and, even if diminished by injury, gets back to that upper echelon of RB that he's worked so hard to be.  Just not against us.

I don't think anyone was right or wrong about the RB market.  Part of the free agent value is tied to the positional strength of the draft, especially for a position like RB.  Last year there was a bumper crop of high end RBs to draft.  This year, not so much.

[Jclayton92]

I don't think anyone was right or wrong about the RB market.  Part of the free agent value is tied to the positional strength of the draft, especially for a position like RB.  Last year there was a bumper crop of high end RBs to draft.  This year, not so much.

He got overpaid. He's been bottom 3rd analytics wise the past 2 years. The Eagles overpaid for name recognition and what they think he can possibly do with their oline. Because it wasn't for what he's put on the field the past 2 years. His EPA, VOA, and every other offensive metric is ridiculously bad.

[PSUBeirut]

He got overpaid. He's been bottom 3rd analytics wise the past 2 years. The Eagles overpaid for name recognition and what they think he can possibly do with their oline. Because it wasn't for what he's put on the field the past 2 years. His EPA, VOA, and every other offensive metric is ridiculously bad.

The market is what the market is.  The Eagles weren't the only team making a serious offer that was significantly above what I imagine you and many others thought a team would be willing to pay for a guy with such ridiculously bad metrics.  We'll see how it plays out, I guess, but it would not surprise me in the least to see Barkley have a good to great year and perhaps a spring in his step once he sees some daylight in front of him.

[AZGiantFan]

He got overpaid. He's been bottom 3rd analytics wise the past 2 years. The Eagles overpaid for name recognition and what they think he can possibly do with their oline. Because it wasn't for what he's put on the field the past 2 years. His EPA, VOA, and every other offensive metric is ridiculously bad.

As @Painter has been pointing out from the very start, one of the things about Barkley is that he is a boom-bust runner.  A stat I've never seen, but would like to, is median yards per attempt.  My gut feeling is that it would give a sense of the RB's consistency and would be particularly useful in comparing backs to historically great back.  My other gut feeling is that Barkley would not rank very highly by this measure.

[Giant Jim]

I'd like him to do well to show what he's capable of behind a half decent offensive line, like most others, he's nothing. Once a Giant, always... What a joke.

[Jclayton92]

The market is what the market is.  The Eagles weren't the only team making a serious offer that was significantly above what I imagine you and many others thought a team would be willing to pay for a guy with such ridiculously bad metrics.  We'll see how it plays out, I guess, but it would not surprise me in the least to see Barkley have a good to great year and perhaps a spring in his step once he sees some daylight in front of him.

I am not sure what your point is exactly? I simply pointed out that per his metrics he got significantly overpaid for name recognition and for what the Eagles think he could possibly be with them. All were factual statements, but it is what it is at this point. There is a reason the Giants didn't even offer him at all and turned around and paid for Singletary.

[Jclayton92]

These 2 list cover the past decade plus of RBs for the Super Bowl winning and losing team. Only Christian McCaffrey and Marshawn Lynch made the pro bowl the year their team went to the super bowl.

Joseph Addai/Donald Brown 2009

Rashard Mendenhall 2010

BenJarvus Green-Ellis / Shane Vereen / Stevan Ridley 2011

Frank Gore 2012

Knowshon Moreno 2013

Marshawn Lynch 2014

Jonathan Stewart 2015

Devonta Freeman / Tevin Coleman 2016

Dion Lewis / James White 2017

Todd Gurley 2018

Matt Breida / Jeff Wilson / Raheem Mostert 2019

Clyde Edwards-Helaire 2020

Joe Mixon 2021

Miles Sanders 2022

Christian McCaffrey 2023

[PSUBeirut]

I am not sure what your point is exactly? I simply pointed out that per his metrics he got significantly overpaid for name recognition and for what the Eagles think he could possibly be with them. All were factual statements, but it is what it is at this point. There is a reason the Giants didn't even offer him at all and turned around and paid for Singletary.

Pretty simple.

"He was overpaid"  - Obviously your opinion.  Not a fact.  I'm guessing that the front offices that were offering Saquon likely disagreed with your opinion...seeing as how they actually paid the guy.
"He got overpaid because of name recognition"  - Obviously another opinion.  Not a fact (unless you can show where the Eagles front office stated this?)
"He got paid because of what the Eagles think he could possibly be with them"  - Bingo, your first factual statement.

My point was simply- your opinions don't set the market for RBs.  The market for RBs sets the market for RBs.  It's pretty straightforward.  And- it's ok to have been wrong about the fact that the guy got paid, when in you and many others opinions here didn't think he would. 

As to my opinion surrounding these facts- it's my opinion that Saquon's metrics were obviously down because he was coming off major injury and running behind a historically bad OL and accompanied by a historically bad QB situation last year.  My opinion is the Eagles (and Texans and possible others) front office saw this as an opportunity to significantly upgrade their team at a reasonable total cost, cap wise.  And, finally, I predict if Saquon can continue to recover from his injury and see some daylight in front of him, those silly metrics will improve significantly.  I just hope that doesn't lead to the Eagles squashing us or making any kind of deep run into the playoffs. 

I'm not going to apologize for being one of this guy's biggest fans.  He puts his nose down, works his ass off, does everything his coach tells him to do, is a community leader, a team captain, worked his way back from major injury, and hasn't complained about the ridiculously awful situation he was drafted into and the surrounding lack of talent he's endured for years- when he absolutely could have.  I wish him the best.

And, finally- I personally 100% agree with the move by Schoen to move on- I think it's a case of win-win for both parties.  Saquon absolutely deserves a chance to live up to his potential somewhere else and the Giants, with DJ's contract, simply couldn't justify paying them both top shelf (for their position) money.