Giants RB Saquon Barkley 'fed up' with critics who are 'All-Pros with clickers in their hand'

If nothing else, one doesn't have to guess if New York Giants big-name running back Saquon Barkley has noticed certain criticisms about his style and overall body of work as a pro. 

The 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year who has yet to fully reclaim that form and who has dealt with numerous injury issues over the years admitted in June he felt he was receiving a "fresh start" under head coach Brian Daboll, who was only hired this past winter. Barkley remarked the following month he wanted "to show the Giants that the guy that they drafted is still here." 

The 25-year-old in the final year of his rookie contract has also heard some suggest he doesn't do well enough to hit open holes created by blockers with confidence and power. Barkley lashed out at such individuals ahead of Sunday's preseason home game versus the Cincinnati Bengals. 

"I’ve been playing this position for a very long time, and by no means am I the perfect running back, and I still got so much work to do," Barkley explained, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "But I know that’s been the conversation or been a thought or been a thing out there that’s said about me it, 'He don’t know what he’s doing. He’s just dancing back there.' I’m really kind of fed up with people who never played a position and try to speak on how I run a position. We call them 'All-Pros with clickers in their hand.' 

"Running back is a tough position, but it’s easy to be there and watch football and watch on TV, or even watch on watch film and stop the clicker and say, 'Oh, he should’ve made that cut.' There’s a lot of things that go into making that cut. There’s a lot of things like your shoulders being square. There’s a lot of things that have an impact on your vision." 

Barkley missed the majority of the 2020 season because of a torn ACL and was then temporarily sidelined with an ankle injury last fall. He finished the 2021 campaign with 593 rushing yards, 263 receiving yards and four touchdowns. 

Such production won't be good enough for him to earn a lucrative second contract from the Giants this coming winter.