As of this writing, the New York Giants and Saquon Barkley have not agreed to a new contract. The Giants have placed the franchise tag on Barkley but he has yet to sign the $10.1 million tender and now there are questions about whether or not he’ll be in attendance when the team’s OTAs begin on April 17.
There’s little question the 2022 Pro Bowl selection will be a Giant this year after he rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns last year.
But will fantasy football owners continue to trust him? Barkley did catch 57 passes for 338 yards in addition to piling up yards on the ground but in auction leagues and daily fantasy sites, he remains overvalued. Name recognition is not always good.
Football Outsiders Chris Spags recently listed Barkley as his most overvalued stud running back for the upcoming 2023 fantasy football season.
It’s time to acknowledge reality: Saquon Barkley is, as Gen Z says, very mid. His ability to get volume is noteworthy, one of six backs with 20 or more intended touches per game last year alongside Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, and Joe Mixon. But this is a back with a -0.05 EPA per rush and =0.25 EPA per target per Sports Info Solutions, a flat 0.2% DVOA on rushes, and a -22.5% DVOA on receptions.
That shakability Barkley is known for? That’s also gone with just a 13.6% avoided tackle rate in 2022. If you saw these numbers without the name brand, you’d go “It feels like this guy could lose touches any day now.
In DFS, Barkley was ranked 23rd overall on DraftKings and 24th on FanDuel. He was the fifth- and sixth-ranked running back respectively on those sites last year. In PPR, Barkley was the fifth-ranked running back in 2023.
Barkley is clearly on his way back to the top after two seasons marred by injury but fantasy players have to take into account that they will pay a premium for his notoriety.
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