After topping ESPN’s NFL rankings a year ago, the Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has fallen a few spots following a quieter 2025 campaign.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Barkley is currently ranked at No. 3 in the top running back NFL rankings for the 2026 season. He was previously ranked at No. 1 for the 2025 season, based on Super Bowl campaign production.

“Barkley proved how great he can be with a 2,000-yard season in 2024 behind Philly’s elite offensive line, resulting in last year’s No. 1 ranking,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 6. “But the Eagles’ line in 2025 was subpar by its standards."

The analyst noted that Barkley produced only four runs of at least 20 yards last season, down 13 from the year before. NFL Next Gen Stats also showed a decline in his rushing yards over expected, falling from second in the league in 2024 to 24th.

Fowler wrote in the ESPN article that Barkley couldn't produce as close to or higher than his historic 2024 production, partly due to the Eagles' offensive struggles, leading him to have fewer explosive runs.

Barkley carried the ball 345 times, rushing for 2,005 yards and recording 15 touchdowns in 2024. His 2,283 total scrimmage yards during the 2024 NFL season rank as the 14th-most in a single season in NFL history.

Fowler further added that Barkley's rushing yards were "overexpected" as he carried the ball 280 times for 1,140 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in the 2025 season.

The low production in the 2025 season made him drop from the highest ranking of No. 2 (in 2024) to No. 24 in the last season.

Though Barkley had a disappointing season, few NFL insiders weren't downplaying his potential as they vouched for Barkley to be their top pick for the running back position.

NFL insider still backs Barkley as the league's top running back

According to Fowler of ESPN, he mentioned in the same article about an NFL personnel member's belief that Barkley could bounce back this year under the new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion's scheme.

"I'm not going to penalize him for a terrible all-around offense last year," a high-ranking personnel official with an NFL team said, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. "He's still a three-down weapon, and if I needed a running back for one season, I'm still taking him 1."

The NFL personnel member believes that Barkley is still one of the league's few true three-down RBs (who can run between tackles, catch passes, and provide pass protection), as his dip in 2025 production was because of the Eagles' offensive system.

As reported by Geoffrey A Knox of Eagles Wire, three realistic expectations from Barkley would be 1,350 rushing yards, 20 explosive plays, 250 receiving yards, and 12 total touchdowns.

Do you think that if the Eagles' offense improves under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, Barkley could quickly reestablish himself among the league's elite running backs? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar