Report: Saquon Barkley trade value revealed

Once one of the league’s budding stars, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has fell victim to injuries and a mediocre offensive line, resulting in his stock plummeting over the course of the past couple seasons.

Barkley, 25, has just one year left on his contract at $7.2 million, and one of the Giants’ biggest questions of the offseason revolves around their running back: will they trade Barkley — and is there any value to dealing him elsewhere — or do they keep him on roster with a potential contract extension in mind?

A recent report from The Athletic’s Dan Duggan suggests that Barkley’s trade value is actually quite lowl.

“Surveying sources in Indy, the consensus trade value for James Bradberry is a third-round pick and Saquon Barkley is a fourth-round pick. I’m skeptical that the Giants will pull the trigger on a Saquon trade,” Duggan wrote. “Bradberry is in the opposite position of Sterling Shepard in terms of leverage. He’s still young, viewed as a high-quality player and plays a premium position. Whether he’s extended, traded or released, Bradberry is in a good spot.”

Barkley was largely considered a home run draft pick out of Penn State, and he proved in on the field by winning the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2018. Barkley rushed for 1,307 yards in 261 attempts as a rookie, averaging 5.0 yards per carry while rushing for 11 touchdowns, and reeling in 121 passes for an additional 721 receiving yards and four touchdowns. But from there, the injuries began, and so too did the unproductive play.

Barkley in 2019 first started to become a less productive halfback for the Giants, playing in 13 games, but he still managed to rush for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns. Additionally, he added 52 receptions for 438 yards and two more touchdowns to that total. But the injuries just kept coming in 2020, and Barkley ended up playing just two games that season, rushing 19 times for 34 yards and no touchdowns. Moreover, he logged six receptions for 60 receiving yards and no touchdowns.

In 2021, Barkley only missed four games due to injuries, which was a relatively fine total compared to the season prior. But in a Giants offense that just couldn’t seem to operate up to par, Barkley was mediocre, at best. He rushed 162 times for 593 yards, averaging an abysmal 3.7 yards per carry, and ran for two touchdowns, while adding just 41 receptions for 57 yards and two receiving touchdowns.