Few RBs have as broad of a fantasy football outlook as Saquon Barkley. He remains an offensive juggernaut when healthy, but he’s also one of the league’s most notable injury risks. With the latest news that the Giants are open to trading Barkley this offseason, which landing spots might — if things break right — offer him the highest fantasy ceiling in 2022?
Saquon Barkley’s landing spots
If the Giants decide to trade their former first-round RB, where could he go? Here are a few destinations that make sense for Barkley.
Arizona Cardinals
James Conner and Chase Edmonds are 2022 free agents. If they bolt, 2020 seventh-round pick Eno Benjamin would (briefly) inherit the starting job. This team was one A.J. Green head-scratcher away from starting this past season 8-0. If Conner can rip up defenses in a split backfield, surely Barkley could do heaps of damage as a 14+ touch bell cow.
Now, we all know the risks. This article isn’t about risks. It’s about upside. Barkley just turned 25 years old. He’ll be a free agent after next season. He was the No. 1 fantasy RB in 2018 with 385.8 fantasy points in 16 games, which was more than Jonathan Taylor had in 17 games this past season. Barkley was the RB10 in 2019 despite missing three games. Yeah, he was elite.
Kyler Murray, Conner, and Edmonds combined for 12 rushing touchdowns from the 1- or 2-yard line in 2021. When everyone was healthy, this offense clicked like few others. Optimally, Barkley could slide in as a 14+ TD running back on the best offensive team of his career. If he could stay healthy in this scenario, he’d earn a very nice payday after the season — if the Cardinals didn’t re-sign him first.
Miami Dolphins
Miami left a lot of points on the table in 2021. Some people blame Tua Tagovailoa. Surely, there’s enough concern to go around. But the running game was atrocious, as the team manufactured the second-lowest yards per carry in the league (3.5). Their bell cow, Myles Gaskin, was No. 47 among backs in yards after contact while owning one of the worst RB broken tackle rates.
This team needs a shot in the arm. Perhaps it will come in free agency, maybe the draft. But if they can wrest Barkley from the Giants on the cheap, he’d provide an immediate and dramatic upgrade to an offense that’s surprisingly close to becoming fearsome — or at least moderately fearsome in the already fearsome AFC East. No doubt, they would feature him, culminating in a likely RB2 floor and a mammoth PPR ceiling.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady has retired (for now), while the offensive line took a big hit with the sudden retirement of Ali Marpet. But if Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones (both free agents for the Bucs) head elsewhere, the team will be left with Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who has an outside shot at earning the 2022 starting job after Tampa Bay invested a third-round pick to land him in 2020.
However, the Bucs signed Fournette two years ago for a reason, and they kept Jones ahead of Vaughn for — well, probably for the same reason. Perhaps Vaughn wasn’t ready to take over. Even if he’s the last RB standing, head coach Bruce Arians might want a more experienced hand leading this backfield.
If they trade for Barkley, the Bucs likely would feature him. The offensive line was elite before Marpet’s retirement. They can probably patch it up enough this offseason to make it a net plus for their newly minted starter. So much depends not only on Vaughn’s role but on who’s starting at quarterback. Still, after playing alongside the nearly retired Eli Manning and the not-better Daniel Jones, a healthy Barkley could thrive in Tampa Bay even with a barely middling QB.