Saquon Barkley can win OPOY again

By: Jake Rajala

Saquon Barkley is one of the most dynamic, explosive running backs in the NFL. Barkley ran angry for 2,005 rushing yards – which made him the ninth RB to eclipse 2k yards. He also average 5.8 YPC! Hence, it was essentially not a surprise when he won Offensive Player of The Year. With that said, I’m going to untwine three reasons why he can repeat as OPOY.

• Weak schedule

Barkley has one of the weakest schedules as a RB. He faces off against the Washington Commanders (31st in rushing yards allowed), Dallas Cowboys (29th in rushing yards allowed), and New York Giants (26th in rushing yards allowed)! He averaged 117.5 rushing yards against his division foes last season.

• Lane Johnson

Lane Johnson is one of the best right tackles in football. PFF gave him a grade of 85.4 – which placed him as the 7th best RT last season. At 34 years old, he has proven he’s not washed up. Eagles fans will hope he plays as long as Jason Peters lasted. It’s essential that they have a RT to slow down the likes of Micah Parsons and Kavyon Thibodeaux.

• Age

Let’s be honest – RBs hit a wall past 30 years old. Thankfully, Barkley is two years below the age of 30. Barkley should still have enough gas in the tank to jump over defenders backwards. Barkley may even be able to play a couple years past 30. Derrick Henry dominated at 30 years old last season. Henry will most likely will be a Pro Bowl-caliber RB for a few more seasons.

Honorable Mention:

• Tush Push

Barkley is not the ball-carrier in the tush push. However, it is the reason that Philly extends drives and is “first in the league in time of possession”. This gives Barkley many more opportunities to close out drives.