Anonymous NFL exec says what every Eagles fan wants to hear about Saquon Barkley following historic season

The Philadelphia Eagles got what they paid for when they signed running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal with $26 million fully guaranteed deal in NFL free agency last year.

He finished the 2024 season racking up 2,005 rushing yards on 345 carries with 13 touchdowns. He also chipped in 33 catches for 278 yards and two more scores. His all-around dominance helped lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance and earned him Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Now heading into the 2025 season, Barkley sits at the top of ESPN's list of the league's best running backs, and for good reason. One NFL personnel director put it perfectly: his breakout year was far from a surprise, but rather the realization of what many always believed he could be behind some of the best big bodies.

"It was almost like this was expected -- he was always expected to be this," an NFL personnel director said. "You can call it confirmation bias. Everybody thought he was a great player [at Penn State] and he proved what people thought he would be. It just took some peaks and valleys. And he was in a bad offense [in New York]."

That same personnel director thinks Barkley is still just getting started. 

"He can go another few years with high-level play behind that [offensive] line," the director said.

That's great news considering the Eagles put even more money into Barkley, inking him to a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension and making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history. That deal included $36 million fully guaranteed at signing, along with up to $15 million in incentives, averaging $20.6 million per year, which is the first time a running back has surpassed the $20 million annual mark.

It gets even better knowing two of Philly's key offensive linemen, Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, are in it for the long run as well, with their longer contracts.