After playing the 2023 season on the franchise tag, Saquon Barkley is now headed to free agency. What team might sign the talented running back, and what would each landing spot mean for his fantasy football value?
Potential Landing Spots for Saquon Barkley
Could Barkley Replace Austin Ekeler on the Los Angeles Chargers?
Austin Ekeler is currently a free agent. Neither side has ruled out his return to Los Angeles, but it sure sounds like he will be playing somewhere else in 2024. That leaves the Chargers with a void at running back.
Former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf has a good relationship with Jim Harbaugh and said the team would love to add Barkley.
Harbaugh has a long history of orchestrating very run-heavy offenses. That fact, combined with the Chargers’ lack of alternatives at running back, would position Barkley for a massive role in what should be one of the better offenses in the league.
Barkley averaged 15.9 fantasy points per game last season. He saw a ton of volume but only averaged 3.9 yards per carry and 4.3 yards per touch. A big reason was his poor offensive situation.
In Los Angeles, Barkley would have the best chance of his career to return to the heights of his rookie season that saw him finish as the overall RB3, averaging 24.0 fantasy points per game.
Houston Brings in Barkley To Play With C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell
Heading into the 2023 season, it looked like Dameon Pierce was the Houston Texans’ answer at running back. That situation quickly deteriorated, with Pierce not only playing his way out of his job but out of a meaningful role altogether. By the end of the season, he was exclusively playing on special teams.
Devin Singletary was a godsend for the Texans. Playing some of the best football of his career, Singletary stepped up and produced RB2 numbers over the second half of the season.
While Singletary is a solid player, he’s not Barkley. Imagine what Barkley could do in the second year of a C.J. Stroud-led offense?
The Texans were willing to use Singletary as a three-down back. It stands to reason Barkley would serve the same role. No disrespect to Singletary, but Barkley is significantly more talented.
We’ve seen Barkley post RB1 numbers in a subpar offense before. We’ve never seen him in an elite offense. Barkley in Houston could be magic for fantasy purposes.
Barkley Stays in NFC East, Plays With Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
This one is a bit of a longer shot. The Philadelphia Eagles don’t exactly have a rich history of paying up for a running back. Barkley would immediately be the most talented back they’ve had since LeSean McCoy.
With that said, D’Andre Swift is a free agent, and Kenneth Gainwell is not equipped to be a lead back. They need someone.
After their disastrous finish to the 2023 season, perhaps some wholesale philosophical changes are in order. I don’t necessarily think signing an expensive running back is the answer, but for fantasy purposes, it doesn’t really matter as long as it happens.
The Eagles had a 46% neutral game script run rate last season, the seventh-highest in the league. Of course, part of that is because Jalen Hurts is a rushing quarterback. But regardless, the Eagles are a run-first offense. Barkley would only make them even more effective.
Last season, we saw Swift post RB2 numbers on just a 58% snap share. Barkley would almost certainly play at least 65% of the snaps.
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Barkley on the Eagles’ offense could be magic. Fantasy managers should salivate at the notion of Barkley joining the birds.
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