Maurice Jones-Drew ranks Saquon Barkley outside of league's five-best starting RBs

Maurice Jones-Drew, who won an NFL rushing title a dozen years ago,, likes to annually rank running back from 1-32. This year’s list doesn’t reflect kindly on Saquon Barkley.

The Giants star and team management didn’t see eye to eye on contracts this off season. Barkley’s contract predicament helped shine a spotlight on how poorly league teams pay running backs as opposed to players at other positions.

Most believe Saquon Barkley is a top five kind of back. But not Jones-Drew, who puts him in ** drum roll ** sixth place.

Why? Jones-Drew writes: “A healthy Barkley completely transformed the Giants’ offense in 2022, helping New York finish in the top five in rush yards per game (148.2) and rush TDs (21). Saquon has earned a long-term deal, no doubt, but after he was reduced to signing a one-year pact, you can bet Barkley will show up in full in another contract season for a Giants team looking to make a deep playoff run.“

Coincidentally, Jones-Drew’s ranking also fits where Barkley places amongst the highest-paid running backs in the league. Barkley settled for the franchise tag offer of $10.1 million. The salary is the sixth highest. He’s tied with Tony Pollard and Josh Jacobs (if he ever returns to the Raiders).

So if Saquon Barkley isn’t in the top five, who is? And to be fair to Jones-Drew, he does do a good ranking.

Christian McCaffrey, who is beginning his first full-season with the 49ers after the Panthers traded him to San Fran last fall, tops all backs. Coincidentally, he’s also the highest paid amongst all backs. That’s because he can do it all. As Jones-Drew noted, the 49ers offense “averaged eight points more per game with McCaffrey in the lineup. That’s a massive impact for one player who’s not a quarterback.”

Derrick Henry, the king, ranks second. And that’s where his rushing total (1.538 yards) ranked amongst all backs in 2022. The Titans, again, will make Henry, the former Alabama star, the focal point ot their offense. The Titans signed receiver DeAndre Hopkins this summer, so maybe the offense turns a bit more multi-dimensional. But Jones-Drew says “this offense will run through Henry until his production plummets, which I clearly don’t see happening in 2023. “

Cleveland’s Nick Chubb is on the list. And there’s reason to think he’ll be even better than last year when he gained 1,525 yards. Quarterback Deshaun Watson will be eligible the entire season, so you can at least call the Browns’ offense steady.

Austin Ekeler of the Chargers is No. 4 on the list. He was one of the running backs protesting for better pay this summer. Ekeler is a prolific scorer. After all, he scored 18 touchdowns in 2022, 15 of them on the ground, three via the air.

And Josh Jacobs is fifth. The Raiders star earned the rushing title last year with 1,653 yards. Similar to Saquon Barkley, the Raiders placed the franchise tag on Jacobs. But he didn’t sign the offer. As preseason nears it close, Jacobs also still is holding out.

If you’d like to check out the rest of the rankings, click it here. So, do you agree or disagree with where Saquon Barkley ranks?