NEW ORLEANS – Saquon Barkley has been named NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press in voting by a panel of 50 media members.
The results were announced Thursday night as part of NFL Honors at the Saenger Theater, a few blocks from where Barkley will play in his first Super Bowl on Sunday night.
Barkley this year became the ninth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history. He set an NFL record with seven touchdown runs of at least 60 yards, and he’s rushed for 442 yards so far in the postseason with a 6.7 average and five touchdowns.
Including regular season and postseason, Barkley has 2,447 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns and a 6.0 average. He needs 30 yards Sunday in Super Bowl LIX vs. the Chiefs to set the NFL record for most combined rushing yards in a season, including regular season and playoffs. Terrell Davis had 2,476 for the Broncos in 1998.
Barkley is the first Eagle ever to win NFL Offensive Player of the Year, which has been awarded annually since 1972.
Previous top-5 placers: Randall Cunningham third behind Roger Craig and Boomer Esiason in 1988 and second to Warren Moon in 1990, Donovan McNabb fourth behind Marshall Faulk, Eddie George and Edgerrin James in 2000, Michael Vick second to Tom Brady and DeSean Jackson fifth in 2010, LeSean McCoy second to Peyton Manning in 2013 and Jalen Hurts third behind Justin Jefferson and Patrick Mahomes in 2022.
Barkley received 35 of 50 1st-place votes along with eight 2nd-place votes, three 3rd-place votes, three 4th-place votes and one 5th-place for 406 total points. He doubled 2nd-place Lamar Jackson, who got 12 1st-place votes and 183 points. Derrick Henry, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow each received one 1st-place vote.
This is the 28th time a running back has received the award. It’s gone to quarterbacks 20 times and wide receivers four times.
Barkley is the first to win Offensive Player of the Year in his first season with a new team since Marshall Faulk in 1999. He was traded from the Colts to the Rams after the 1998 season. The only other player to receive the honor after his first year with a team is Earl Campbell as a rookie with the Oilers in 1978.
Barkley won’t talk about himself without saluting his offensive line, which despite the loss of Jason Kelce paved the way for 3,048 rushing yards this year, 7th-most in NFL history.
“So much love, man, and I know you don't rush for 2000 yards by yards by accident, and you don't do it by yourself,” he said Wednesday.
“That's why I love this sport. It's the ultimate team sport, and I have the best offensive line in the league and you can make an argument, one of the best offensive lines ever, and I'll argue with you all day because I firmly believe that. I stand on that. And that's why I go to the guys every single game, let them know that you guys are the best in the world, so whatever we call, you guys do your job and I'll go out there and try to make the best plays I can.”
Barkley signed with the Eagles in March after six seasons with the Giants. He made Pro Bowls after the 2018 and 2022 seasons but was never a top-5 finisher in Offensive Player of the Year voting.
His years with the Giants were marked by some impressive highs – over 1,300 rushing yards in 2018 and 2022, 47 touchdowns, close to 300 catches.
But he also missed 23 games with injuries from 2019 through 2023, averaged below 4.0 yards per carry in 2021 and 2023 and turned 27 in February, an age where most running backs are on the downturn of their careers. The Giants only won more than six games once in his six seasons in New York and won just one playoff game.
After signing a three-year, $37.5 million contract, Barkley got off to a decent start this year and after Week 6 he was fourth in the NFL in rushing, averaging 96 yards per game. Not bad.
But he took off after that, and in 14 games since Week 7 he’s averaged 140 yards and 6.1 yards per carry with 14 touchdowns. Including the postseason, Barkley now has 14 100-yard games this year, including 12 in his last 14 games. The 14 total 100-yard games ties an NFL record also achieved by Barry Sanders and Davis.
On Wednesday, Barkley compared himself to Faulk, who spent his first five seasons with the Colts and was very good but truly blossomed into a Hall of Famer once he joined Dick Vermeil’s Rams and the Greatest Show on Earth.
It's a very good parallel.
“When you come to a place, you want to leave your legacy,” he said. “You want to have an impact. The best example is when you think of Marshall Falk, do you think of the Colts or do you think of the Rams? So that's my goal to be here and leave my legacy.
“Thankful for what happened the first six years I had in New York but also I still can be in (Eagles Hall of Fame) and have my legacy and be known as a great Eagle.”
Zack Baun, in his first year with the Eagles, his first year as a starter and his first year as an off-ball linebacker, finished 5th in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Patrick Surtain II (330 points), Trey Hendrickson (205), Myles Garrett (162) and T.J. Watt (114).
Baun is the first Eagles linebacker to place in the top five in Defensive PoY voting since Seth Joyner was second to Pat Swilling in 1991.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who engineered the greatest improvement to the No. 1 defense in NFL history – the Eagles were 26th last year – placed fourth in Assistant Coach of the Year voting. He received three 1st-place votes and finished behind Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (364), Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores (143) and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (110) with 109 points.
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