Eagles star named NFL Offensive Player of Year ahead of Super Bowl
NEW ORLEANS – Saquon Barkley won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018 as a member of the New York Giants. He now has another prestigious award to add to his trophy case.
The Philadelphia Eagles running back was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year at NFL Honors on Thursday.
Barkley has had an exceptional 2024 campaign in his first year in Philadelphia. He won the NFL’s rushing title, running for a career-high 2,005 yards along with 13 rushing touchdowns. His yardage output set a franchise record and stands as the eighth most ever in a single season. With the Eagles having clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs by Week 18, Barkley was held out of the regular-season finale, ending his shot at breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.
“Saquon is a heck of a player. He’s been paired with a great group in front of him. And I think that’s showing,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said of Barkley this season. “He’s been able to take us to the next level in many ways, take our running game to the next level in many ways. And he’s been able to do really big, big things.”
Barkley helped the Eagles rush for a franchise record 3,048 yards. Philadelphia had the second-ranked rushing offense in the NFL this year.
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The running back totaled an NFL-best 2,283 yards from scrimmage and entered the end zone 15 times in he 2024 regular season.
Additionally, Barkley has amassed 2,447 rushing yards through the Eagles’ run to Super Bowl 59. He’s 30 yards shy from eclipsing Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis’ record (2,476) for most rushing yards in a season, including the postseason, in NFL history.
Barkley’s regular-season performance earned him first-team All-Pro honors and his third career Pro Bowl, and now the running back is the Offensive Player of the Year.
“It’s a luxury to have him, that’s for darn sure. Love him,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said of Barkley last month. “I can’t say enough good things about him and the leadership he brings to this football team and the – just everything he brings to this football team. He’s special.”
