Saquon Barkley’s leadership has motivated Eagles locker room as RB is set to face Giants for first time

PHILADELPHIA — There’s something different when Saquon Barkley is in a locker room. 

Obviously he’s Saquon Barkley, one of the best running backs in the NFL. But there isn’t any stoicism and aura surrounding him amongst his peers. He doesn’t act different or make his presence felt. 

Barkley is just one of the guys, which is what the Eagles needed after the collapse that transpired last season. 

“He’s a good leader in the locker room,” said Eagles team captain Lane Johnson. “Quickly made friends with guys here, you know, I think he sets the tone with how he works and how he prepares. So he’s just a guy that people kind of gravitate towards, you know, far as personality type.”

Barkley’s work ethic has paid off in his first five games with the Eagles. Running behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, Barkley has 482 rushing yards and is averaging a career-high 5.3 yards per carry. He amassed 100+ scrimmage yards in four of his first five games, as his 5.5 yards per touch is the highest mark since his rookie season in 2018. 

“You could see it for yourself,” said Eagles center Nick Gates, a former teammate of Barkley with the New York Giants. “He’s had a hell of a year so far. I hope he continues to do it. 

“He’s a good player. Any line he’d run behind, he’d be good. Especially here, with the guys we have up front. It’s awesome to see them work together and do things together.”

This week is obviously a big one for Barkley as he faces his former team for the first time. Barkley isn’t trying to make it a bigger deal than what it already is (also what Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said), not falling into the trap of having to prove something to the Giants. 

It’s just business as usual. His teammates can sense that. 

“He comes in like he comes in every day,” Hurts said. “Same type of urgency, same type of focus, same type of mentality, same presence. I just want him to go out there and play his game like he has all these other games we’ve played in.”

Even though Barkley won’t make the matchup a big deal, his teammates can sense the enthusiasm of his return to MetLife Stadium. This is a reunion of sorts for Mekhi Becton too, he played in the same stadium as Barkley — even though it was for a different franchise. 

“I know he’s excited. We both know what New York meant to us and we both know how New York did us,” Becton said. “I’m just gotta let him be his own little space and I’ll be in my own little space. Towards game day, we gonna both do that.”

This is a big week for Barkley. He knows what’s at stake and won’t let the moment get to him. 

That’s the leadership qualities that make Barkley so likable. He clearly is one of the guys. 

“I’m trying my best to make sure that it doesn’t impact me in a negative way,” Barkley said. “If anything, try to use it to lift me up. Let my competitive spirit drive me, go out there and keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s to win football games, and also go out there and play with my teammates, play with my guys. 

“This week, I’m just going to have some guys on the other side of the ball, too. So it’s going to make it more fun, to talk a little bit more crap about me.”