Why Eagles GM isn't surprised by Saquon Barkley's contributions this season

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley could be a dominant performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX away from completing arguably the greatest running-back season in NFL history. 

Ahead of Sunday's showdown in New Orleans, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman reflected on what Barkley has meant to the organization over the past 11 months. 

"I'd like to say he's exceeded expectations, but he's always been one of the best players I've ever seen whenever I've watched him and I have always known about what kind of person he is because it's not hard to find that out," Roseman recently said about Barkley, as shared by Tim McManus of ESPN. "So I'm really not surprised by any of this, and I don't say that in an arrogant way, it's based on who he is, nothing to do with me, because this is who he's always been. And I'm just glad everyone gets to see that."

Numerous reporters and analysts defended the New York Giants for not overpaying to stop Barkley from reaching free agency last March. Some of those same individuals said that even an advertised Super Bowl contender such as the Eagles shouldn't sign a veteran ball-carrier with a worrisome injury history to a three-year, $37.75M contract that could be worth up to $46.75M with $26M fully guaranteed. 

Of course, Barkley has since become the best offensive player for a team that won 15 of 16 games from Week 6 through conference championship Sunday. He led the league for the regular season with 2,283 total yards from scrimmage, is 30 yards away from surpassing Terrell Davis (2,476) for the most rushing yards from Week 1 of a season through that campaign's Super Bowl, is the presumptive AP Offensive Player of the Year Award winner and a finalist for the Most Valuable Player Award. 

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Barkley second among the betting favorites at +260 odds to claim Super Bowl MVP Award honors. 

Along with his tremendous on-the-field contributions, Barkley also emerged as an outspoken leader in the Philadelphia locker room going back to last spring. In short, he's been worth every penny he's received from the Eagles. 

"[He has been a] huge, huge player and person for this team," Roseman added. "And [signing him was] not a hard trigger to pull. I think I'm being consistent with what I said in March -- was extremely confident in the player and the person." 

Also on Monday, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list the Eagles as 1.5-point underdogs against the Chiefs. If Philadelphia earns an upset win at Caesars Superdome, Barkley could get his hands on multiple trophies from the start of Thursday's "NFL Honors" awards show through late Sunday night.