Saquon Barkley is a running back who plays for the New York Giants in the National Football League (NFL). The 24-year-old is one of the top-five running backs in the league and is heavily tipped to finish the 2021-22 season as one of the most productive players in Fantasy Draft.
Player Bio:
Born in Bronxx, New York on February 9, 1997, Barkley grew up in a sporting family with his father and uncle being former boxers and his brother a baseball player. Barkley idolized former New York Jets running back Curtis Martin.
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His family moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania soon, where he attended the Whitehall High School. He recorded nearly 100 combined touchdowns during his sophomore and senior years. He committed to play college football for Penn State, the team from the Pennsylvania State University.
He had an excellent freshman year, and was awarded the second-team All-Big Ten, following it up with a Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year award among others in his sophomore year. He was also a renowned track and field athlete.
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Career highlights and records:
Barkley entered the 2018 NFL Draft as a highly rated prospect. By the February mock drafts, he was projected as the second pick overall, the highest for a running back since Reggie Bush in 2006. He was also touted to be picked by the Cleveland Browns as the first pick overall, making him the first running back to be picked first overall since Ki-Jana Carter in 1995.
He was eventually picked by the New York Giants as the second pick overall in the 2018 Player Draft. He had a brilliant rookie year, recording 1,307 Rushing yards and 721 Receiving yards and a combined 15 touchdowns in 16 games.
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He enjoyed a slightly under-par season the next year, but suffered a torn ACL to be restricted to just two games in the 2020 season.
Among his individual honours are a Pro Bowl, Ground Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, PFWA All-Rookie Team, all in his rookie year in 2018.
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Fantasy performance
Understandably, Barkley enjoyed his best season in fantasy football in 2018, scoring 294.8 points at an average of 18.4 points per game. Overall, he has 496.3 points at an average of 12.6 per game.
