Eagles RB Saquon Barkley projected to reach new heights in 2024

The Philadelphia Eagles went all in on running back Saquon Barkley in NFL free agency, signing him to a three-year, $37.75 million deal with $26 million guaranteed.

With a contract like that, a lot is expected from Barkley in 2024 but NFL Network's Adam Rank thinks the two-time Pro Bowl running back will have no trouble living up to expectations. 

In fact, in one of his recent articles, Rank even went as far as to say that Barkley will log his best season yet in 2024: 

"I know a lot of people will make jokes about Barkley's availability after he missed 18 games from 2020 to 2021 and was sidelined for three contests last year. But people used to make jokes about Christian McCaffrey's durability, too, and now they look foolish. Barkley has 2,892 scrimmage yards since 2022 (fifth among RBs) and is one of six players in NFL history to average 70-plus rushing yards and 25-plus receiving yards per game over his career (min. 50 games played). Plus, there is no way Jalen Hurts is rushing for 15 touchdowns again. You have Saquon now. Let him cash in those short-yardage runs. You can look at guys like Kyren Williams, Breece Hall and Bijan Robinson, but you can also make a solid case for Barkley as the RB2 behind McCaffrey in your fantasy drafts."

Before joining the Birds, Barkley spent the first six seasons with the New York Giants stuck behind a weak offensive line. Regardless, he still managed to reach over 1,000 total rushing yards in four of his six NFL seasons.

Looking back at Barkley's career, his best season came in 2018 when he recorded 1,307 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He also isn't too far removed from his next best year which happened in 2022 when he achieved 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. 

Now in Philly, Barkley is going to be running behind one of the most durable offensive lines in the league. 

Sure, Barkley won't be fortunate to have Jason Kelce anchoring the Eagles' offensive line. But he still gets to work alongside some of the NFL's other best blockers in Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, and Landon Dickerson -- and that's more than enough to help him reach new heights in 2024.