New York Giants: Saquon Barkley runs his way to Offensive Rookie of the Year

Saquon Barkley started his career in dominant fashion with the New York Giants, and it continued all the way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

It wasn’t a great 2018 season for the New York Giants, winning a mere five games. However, it was better than a good year for star rookie running back, Saquon Barkley. On Saturday night he was rewarded for it.

For anyone who hasn’t heard by now, Barkley was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. After rushing for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns, the choice was clear. He also posted 721 yards receiving on 91 receptions as well.

Barkley won the award with Baker Mayfield falling in right behind him. The award could have gone either way but Barkley is very deserving of the title.

More from Empire Writes Back

Right away, Barkley showed the world how good he is. Week one he ran the ball 18 times for 106 yards and a score.

He went on to eclipse the 100 yard mark a total of six times, including three in a row from week 12-14.

Barkley finished second in the league in rushing, behind only Ezekiel Elliot. 11 rushing touchdowns was good for fourth overall.

721 receiving yards was good for fourth in the NFL for running backs. Pretty good work for a young man fresh out of school.

Barkley was often compared to Adrian Peterson prior to being drafted by the Giants. Peterson put up 1,341 yards as a rookie.

Peterson also won Offensive Rookie of the Year so it sounds like the comparison was spot on.

Barry Sanders rushed for 1,470 yards as a rookie. Yes that is more than Barkley posted but not by much. Curtis Martin rushed for 1,487 yards, but it took him 107 more carries to get there.

Next. A great tweet from LT. dark

Barkley’s performance becomes that much more impressive when you remember the offensive line that was blocking for him.

According to Football Outsiders, the Giants line was ranked 30th in the league in 2018, with 3.9 adjusted line yards. This refers to the amount of yards per carry the line was responsible. With Barkley averaging five yards per carry, that means he was good for over one yard per carry on his own.

But wait, there is more. According to Pro Football Focus, of Barkley’s 1,307 rushing yards, 872 came after first contact which is the fourth best since PFF started. It’s also a really big number.

As a receiver, Barkley forced 31 missed tackles which is a record for a rookie running back in the PFF era. He’s elusive, he can run, catch the football and block. Saquon Barkley is on his way to a great NFL career.

It started out like this in preseason week one:

Year one ended with a well-deserved award. Here is to many more accolades down the line for Saquon Barkley.

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe to PFF’s EDGE or ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.

Home/New York Giants