There isn't much that Super Bowl champion Saquon Barkley hasn't done at the NFL level.
After being selected second overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, Barkley has earned three Pro Bowl selections, an All-Pro nod, the 2018 AP Rookie of the Year award, and the 2024 AP Offensive Player of the Year award through seven seasons.
Heck, he's even scored his own Madden cover featuring (arguably) his most impressive highlight.
Despite quickly amassing a Hall of Fame-worthy resume, the Eagles star still has goals he wishes to achieve. Chief among them, Barkley recently stated that he wants to be remembered as the best running back in NFL history once he's retired.
"I don't mean it in an arrogant way. I want to be the best running back to ever play, or at least one of the best running backs to ever play," Barkley said. "Don't think there's a way you can prove who's the best. But that's always been my motivation."
Even after a historic 2,000-yard rushing season, Barkley feels fresh and believes he's just now entering his prime.
“But the beauty of it is,” Barkley said, “I don’t know how many touches I had, nor how many yards, but it doesn’t feel like it. I feel really good.
“I feel like I’m entering my prime. I just gotta continue to have the mindset of listening to everyone, buying into whatever they want me to do. Whatever they want me to do, try to do it at the best of my ability.”
Barkley had a season for the ages in his first year with the Eagles, one that was capped with a championship victory in Super Bowl LIX.
The All-Pro running back rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns in the regular season, becoming the ninth player in league history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He had seven touchdown runs of 60-plus yards last season (including the playoffs), an NFL record for a season and three more than the next-highest player. Three touchdown runs of 60-plus yards came in the postseason, a feat no other player has accomplished in his entire playoff career.
SAQUON BARKLEY 60 YARD TD ON THE EAGLES FIRST PLAY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 26, 2025
UNREAL.
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/z1nwtMZhDP
He set the record for most rushing yards in a single season with 2,504 yards, including the playoffs. Barkley is the only player in NFL history to compile 2,800+ scrimmage yards in a single season (including the playoffs).
Now, after a historic debut season in Philly, Barkley looks to raise the bar even higher during the Eagles' title defense next season.
As Barkley pursues greatness and aims to add a few more tokens to his bid for Canton, rushing for 2,000 yards again would put the Eagles star in a class of his own. No one has ever rushed for 2,000 yards in a season twice, and it's a way Barkley could establish himself as the greatest running back ever.
"I think that would be pretty cool," Barkley said. "But I didn't go into last year with the mindset of rushing for 2,000 yards. It's kind of just happened. ... But for me, I kind of just take care of the little things first, and everything else that I want to accomplish, all the things that you have to accomplish to become great, to create your legacy and become a Hall of Fame player, I just try to take care of that, and the rest will take care of itself."
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