Tiki Barber Envisions Saquon Barkley Crushing His Giants’ Records
Through Saquon Barkley‘s first two years in the league with the New York Giants, he has established himself as one of the top talents at his position. Barkley has also quickly proven to be a cornerstone piece for the Giants’ long-term future that could see him as a prominent offensive factor for years to come. That has led to former franchise great Tiki Barber to quickly hop on the bandwagon as he recently poured on some massive praise toward the Pro Bowl running back.
Saquon Barkley’s start to NFL career
The Giants decided to take Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he has lived up to the hype around him.
Barkley put forth a historic rookie campaign that saw him set several NFL records along the way. He put himself in the record books for a first-year player with 12 games with at least 100 total scrimmage yards, five 50-yard rushing touchdowns, 91 receptions, most catches in a single game (14), and most scrimmage yards (2,028).
The former Penn State product has established himself as a dominant dual-threat option that the Giants have greatly depended on him. Barkley’s second year may have been impacted by injury, but he broke the 1,000 rushing yard mark. That also has taken away from the bright future he has ahead, which one former franchise great is quite aware of that.
Tiki Barber believes that Saquon Barkley will break his rushing record
Barkley has taken the franchise by storm behind his stellar play in his short time in the league.
It has quickly caught the attention of former Giants great Tiki Barber, who told Brandon Robinson of Heavy.com that he believes that the Pro Bowler could one day hold all of his franchise records.
“Right now, he’s living it,” Tiki said. “But it’s interesting because he gets compared to at least successful things I did in my career.
“If he stays with the Giants, my records have no chance. He’s going to run through them. But it’s interesting… It took me about four years to figure it out. In 2000 or so, I started to figure it out, 2001 how to be consistent, how to stay healthy and how to be a reliable contributor. Saquon had that from Day 1. And if you start and if you get it [the proverbial ‘get it’] from Day 1 and he had great success — he was Rookie of the Year. I can’t remember if he led the league in rushing, but he was right up there.”
Barber currently holds numerous Giants’ records that could one day be in reach for Barkley. Most notably, he sits atop with 10,449 rushing yards, 15,632 total scrimmage yards, six 1,000 rushing-yard campaigns, and 1,860 rushing yards in a season.
These are marks that he could have a chance of breaking if things pan out in the manner he hopes that can unfold in New York over the next several seasons.
Saquon Barkley’s health will be key
There is no question that Saquon Barkley has the elite talent to one-day place him among the all-time greats.
It will all come down to him being able to show longevity through his health as that has been the difference-maker for many legends at the position. Barkley is coming off a season where he missed three games due to a high-ankle sprain. He was able to avoid surgery, but that’s something he will need to steer clear of to put forth a legendary career.
Barkley is the definition of a game-changing talent, and if he can remain healthy, there’s no reason to believe he can put forth an incredible career with many Giants’ records to his name.
