So here is the Scoop,
When it comes to Saquon Barkley, whether you love or hate him, you must respect him. An absolute athletic freak, who often appears to be made in a lab. Between hurdling over grown men in full pads, changing directions with the snap of a finger, and breakaway speed that leaves the league’s top defensive backs in the dust… Saquon has it all. I mean, c’mon. Have you seen this dude in the gym?
Just look at those quads… God himself had to write down notes on how he produced this human being for reference.
With all these top tier athletic abilities, there has to be a chink in the armor of this guy I see as superhuman, right? Right… *sigh*
Saquon’s ankle breaking abilities appear to affect not only his opponents… Saquon has suffered three separate Ankle Sprains while playing at the collegiate and pro levels. Along with his most recent injury of a torn ACL keeping him sidelined for all but 2 games in the 2020 season, it is safe to say he has the injury bug.
Fantasy football boils down to production when all is said and done, and the best ability is availbility. I’ve done some quick analysis to show why Saquon is being severely overvalued and why he isn’t worth the mid 1st round pick he is projected to go in any redraft league.
The #1 culprit of Saquon’s ever declining value is the Giant’s offensive line. As a unit in 2020 the Giant’s “big uglies” ranked 31st according to PFF. With season results like that, a star RB, and young QB ready to lead the franchise, you would think the New York front office would get some guys in front of their prized possessions for their protection and production, right? LOL, nope.
The Giants signed Zach Fulton from the Texans on a 1 year deal to compete for a job at guard. And that’s it.. Didn’t draft a single OL position, with 3 of the top 5 needs of the team being C, OG, OT according to the experts at ESPN. With the inability to address the trenches, the Giant’s are poised for another lack luster season. Granted, they are due for Nate Solder’s return after opting out during the 2020 season of Covid-19, but I have reasonable suspicion the 33 year old vet isn’t going to be the man to shift the tides in a favorable direction for the entire unit overnight.
The #2 culprit is the Giant’s 2019 6th overall pick.. QB, Daniel Jones. I do think Jones is a product of a flawed system due to the front line protection, or lack thereof that I have previously mentioned, but I also don’t think Jones knows how utilize Saquon fully. This is mainly due to the fact that they still have yet to play a full season together (15 games). Along with coaching changes and front office moves. The leadership in New York has made it hard for Daniel Jones to flourish. Now, with Joe Judge at the helm, and the additions of Kenny Galloday, John Ross and Kadarious Tony, the team is acquiring offensive weapons for Jones to throw to, which only hurts Saquon’s production in the receiving market. With players like Evan Engram, Darius Slayton, and Sterling Shepard returning as well, Jones should have no problem slinging the ball around to the various options his front office has acquired, but now the Giants are creating a too many mouths to feed scenario, which ultimately draws needed attention away from Barkley.
The year Daniel Jones took over, Saquon saw his targets decrease by almost half. From getting 121 targets with Eli under center to 73 targets with Jones in his rookie year, Saquon’s receiving as well as overall production suffered. An argument can be made that with all the receiving options for Jones, defenses will have trouble defending the run, but to those arguing secondary coverage opening up the run game, I ask you to refer to the #1 culprit of Saquon’s diminishing value.
With a revolving door at OLine how much time will Jones have to throw? Survey Says: Very minimal. Reduced time in the pocket, leads to bad decisions to get rid of the ball to stay healthy, which results in quick swing passes to…. You guessed it. Saquon. Those bang bang plays often result in injuries, and we now have found ourselves come full circle in the reasonings as to why Saquon is no longer the RB he was his rookie year. With the lack of protection and inexperience at the QB position, the NY Giants are ultimately wasting Saquon’s prime years. Things can very well change and in a hurry, and I could be eating my words if Joe Judge can concoct ways to get his weapons open and let Daniel Jones go to work, but I have zero reason to believe Saquon’s production levels will reach the levels he once obtained his rookie year.
In any redraft league, eliminating keeper scenarios, Saquon is considered the 4th or 5th best RB depending on your rankings, but I believe Barkley to remain in the top 10 RB but on the low end at 9 or 10 after the season concludes, as long as he remains healthy.
Would love to hear your opinions on the matter, as this could possibly be a bitter text to an on old ex I’m just getting off my chest after having Saquon for the past three years to only be disappointed more and more each year. Also let me know who else you would like to see more analysis whether it is a team overall or specific player. Help me, try to help you this year in fantasy.
-Scoop
AverageFantasyFootballGuy.com 