The Philadelphia Eagles made headlines this season by poking a star player from their division rival. A previous report revealed that they were signing RB Saquon Barkley away from the New York Giants. Now, one coach from Barkley’s alma mater claims he has one major advantage with his new team.

Saquon Barkley Benefits From Offensive Line Upgrade

It is no secret that the New York Giants struggled with their offensive line last season. Despite a couple of free agent signings to attempt to address this, there is certainly a long way to go for the Giants. Last season, New York’s offensive line ranked 31st in the NFL in run-block-win-rate. If that was not enough, the Giants’ offensive line by far led the NFL in most sacks allowed.

On top of this, the Eagles had one of the most productive offensive lines in the NFL last season. This allowed the Eagles to perfect the “tush push” play they liked to run on 4th and inches. Because of this, Philadelphia led the NFL in fourth down conversion rate last season.

Penn State Nittany Lions running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider claims that this is going to be a great fit for Barkley. He noted that Barkley can actually have room to work behind this offensive line.

“He finally gets an offensive line that creates space for the kid.” -Ja’Juan Seider

Jalen Hurts Rushing for Philadelphia Eagles
Barkley does not have to do this by himself. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is more than capable of contributing to the rushing attack as well. Last season, Hurts had 605 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. Despite his rushing yards declining from 2022, the rushing touchdowns last season did eclipse 2022.

“The defense can’t just load up the box to stop him (Barkley) because of all the playmakers the Eagles have at tight end, wide receiver, and because Jalen Hurts is willing to contribute in the running game.” -Ja’Juan Seider

Saquon Barkley vs. D’Andre Swift
The Eagles had a productive running back last season in Swift. However, he has since moved on to the Chicago Bears. Admittedly, Swift did have more rushing yards than Barkley last season. With that said, there are two asterisks to this.

First, the offensive line both running backs had to work with last season is worth noting, as mentioned above. Plus, Barkley missed a few games last season due to a sprained ankle. If Barkley is fully healthy with a better offensive line to work with, he will likely put up some big numbers in 2024.