Saquon Barkley's 2024 record season ignored in PFF's disrespectful RB rankings

The NFL has never seen as great a season from a running back as Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley had in 2024, but that isn't enough to crown him the best at his position.

PFF writer Trevor Sikkema wrote an article on Wednesday as he ranked the NFL's top 32 running backs. Barkley wasn't good enough to top Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, as Barkley was slapped with second in the rankings.

Henry got the edge over Barkley as Henry had the best PFF rushing grade among the running backs in the NFL last year with a 93.5 grade. Barkley still had good enough numbers to rank among the elite backs in the league.

"Barkley is a big reason why the Philadelphia Eagles are the reigning Super Bowl champions. He earned an 82.7 PFF rushing grade in 2024 and talied the most runs of 10 yards or more (55). He also led the NFL with 2,504 rushing yards."

Barkley's historic season wasn't enough to be number one among NFL running backs

Let's review the numbers that Barkley racked up during the 2024 season. Everyone already knows about the NFL record 2,504 yards as previously mentioned, but there was more that he did during the regular season and playoffs.

He also led the league in rushing attempts (345), yards per game (125.3), total touches (378), and total yards from scrimmage (2,283). After putting up those numbers in 16 regular season games, Barkley also led the NFL in the postseason in attempts (91), rushing yards (499), rushing touchdowns (five), touches (104), and yards from scrimmage (574) in four games.

Barkley garnered multiple awards and accolades following the 2024 season for his outstanding performance. He was named to the Pro Bowl, AP first team All-Pro, and won AP Offensive Player of the Year.

This is no disrespect to Henry, who is one of the best running backs in the NFL, but there wasn't a running back in the league who made as much of a difference to a team as Barkley. The Ravens still made the playoffs with Henry, but Barkley put the Eagles on a whole new level by winning the Super Bowl.

Philadelphia started the season 2-2. Still, after the bye week, former Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore adjusted his strategy, shifting from a passing-heavy approach to a more balanced run-pass combination with Barkley. That difference in philosophy changed the trajectory of the season for the Eagles, as they lost only one game for the rest of the year.

A big reason for the turnaround was Barkley carrying the load on offense. Philadelphia would not have won the Super Bowl without him.

PFF will go off their grades, but sometimes it's a matter of using the eye test and knowing that Barkley is the best running back in the NFL right now.