When you see Saquon Barkley casually weave through the Eagles’ locker room, stepping over shoulder pads and duffel bags, the three-time Pro Bowl running back almost blends into the scenery as he goes about his business.
He isn’t short (generously listed at 6 feet), but compared to some of the 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8 slabs of meat he plays alongside, he doesn’t necessarily stand out. Until, that is, you notice he’s built like a steel tank, without an ounce of fat on him, with muscles cut like blades and thighs as thick as tree trunks.
You notice his quiet, matter-of-fact demeanor. He is never one to seek attention. At a glance, he is the unlikeliest of superstars.
Except, of course, for the extraordinary athletic gifts bestowed upon him.
Anyone who watched Barkley play at Penn State recognized he was a generational talent. His instincts and mentality, his field vision, his unique combination of speed, agility, power and soft hands — not to mention a deep-seated drive — are a rarity.
An acquaintance of mine, who preferred I not mention her name, was friends with Barkley in college and remains in touch with him to this day.
“Even after he started getting famous at Penn State, he was the same guy,” she said. “It was the same when he went to the NFL. If you didn’t follow sports, you wouldn’t know he was famous or a big star athlete. He was always just Saquon. Really nice and down to earth, fun to hang out with.”
Off the field, Barkley, whose parents moved the family from the Bronx to the Lehigh Valley when he was 4, spends time with the people close to him. He’s engaged to his college sweetheart, Anna Congdon, with whom he shares a daughter and a son. He values his faith. And he’s a golf nut. He is frequently seen at courses throughout the Delaware Valley, from Aronimink in Newtown Square to Manufacturers in Upper Dublin. He’ll play with just about anybody, from Barack Obama and Donald Trump, to several of his Eagles teammates, to random folks just looking to fill out a foursome at one of the area clubs.
“Some people are really upset ‘cause I played golf and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT,” Barkley, who isn’t political, posted on X of his outing on the links with Trump, which occurred just prior to the Eagles’ White House visit in April to celebrate the Super Bowl LIX championship. “Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand.”
He later declined a Trump Administration offer to join the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition (PCSFN), citing his obligations to the upcoming football season.
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Barkley, through hard work and humility, nurtures his gifts. The Birds and their fan base couldn’t ask for a better star and representative to root for.
It’s no surprise that once he finally landed with a good team and a legit offensive line, after spending six years being battered with the flailing New York Giants, his career as a pro blasted off into a new stratosphere.
“It’s a lot of fun when you have a guy with the capability to take it to the house every time he touches the ball,” veteran Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, 35, who has been selected to six Pro Bowls, said about blocking for Barkley.
After signing with the Eagles in 2024, Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards in a season (2,005), joining the likes of O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson and Barry Sanders, and set a franchise-record of 2,283 all-purpose yards from scrimmage. His 2,504 total rushing yards, including playoffs, marked a league record as he led the way to the Super Bowl title
Barkley was named Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press but somehow didn’t win MVP, finishing third behind quarterbacks Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, despite a historic campaign that helped restore prominence and value to the running back position in a passing era.
He even ended up on the cover of Madden NFL 26, featuring his famous reverse-hurdle play from Week 9 against Jacksonville, which came during a 10-game winning streak that kicked the Eagles’ season into high gear.
In March, the team rewarded Barkley with a two-year, $42 million contract extension through 2028, making him the highest paid running back in the league.
For years, players at other skill positions had seen their salaries rise, but it had been the opposite for most running backs, who were perceived to have a short NFL shelf life and were no longer a focal point of many offenses.
“That was a narrative that (running backs) get hurt and don’t perform as well after a few years, but I know that isn’t true, because if you look at it, you can say the same thing about every position, even quarterback,” Barkley said, adding that he hoped younger running backs cash in bigger than he did with his latest deal. “I hope they beat it. Every other position, the value increases each year. … All of those young guys underneath me, when there’s a time, hopefully they beat it and max it out even more.”
Still, he remained humble.
“I think it was just mutual, the love I have for the organization,” Barkley, 28, said after the Eagles’ extension. “I want to be here for a very long time, and the same thing that they feel for me, obviously it shows.
“I’m just thankful. Obviously, for the extension, but being part of this organization. From top to bottom, they do it the right way, everybody in this building. So, to be able to be part of this for another four years — and hopefully more — I’m super excited about that.”
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It would be inaccurate to say the Eagles kept Barkley sealed in virtual bubble wrap during OTAs, minicamp and training camp, the way franchises do with starting quarterbacks, but they certainly limited his risk. (He still got his reps in, and he was frustrated when he didn’t get more.)
“You don’t feel the (physical) impact of last year; I think you just feel camp,” he said a week and a half ago at NovaCare Complex, the Eagles’ practice facility and headquarters in South Philadelphia, on Pattison Avenue on the other side of Broad Street from Lincoln Financial Field. “That’s kind of how camp’s supposed to be. You get your bumps and your bruises. You’ve got to work through some things. It’s supposed to be hard; football’s supposed to be hard. It helps get your body in condition for the season, kind of callous your body up. But I feel really good. For me, it’s all about sticking to the plan that my team has built and just following it.”
With the Giants, who failed to build around him, and who only had one winning season while he was there, it seemed like Barkley was always at risk. It led to myriad injuries, including a torn ACL in 2020. And then they opted to prioritize negotiations with quarterback Daniel Jones in 2023, giving Jones $160 million before eventually cutting him a year later, while letting Barkley walk.
“It was definitely tough, but I think that’s why I’m the player I am today and the reason why I’m having the success I am today,” Barkley, who played in every game last season, said leading up to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. “Whether it was losing or the adversities or the injuries I went through … I never gave up. I never lost hope. I always saw this moment coming, I always saw this success coming. At the time, I thought I was still going to be in a New York Giants uniform, but life happens for a reason. And I’m in the right place at the right time, where I’m supposed to be.
“That’s within anything though, not just in football. Life is going to throw so many challenges at you, but that’s how you know the type of person you are and the type of man you are, in those moments. And I think who I was in those moments are the reason you’re able to see me ‘shine’ right now, as people say.”
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What gets Barkley out of bed in the morning is the pursuit of greatness and the pursuit of winning — and winning again, and again, and again. After a stellar career at Whitehall High School that included a Mr. Pennsylvania Football award, he helped lead Penn State’s return to the national stage under head coach James Franklin, including a freshman rushing performance of 194 yards against No. 1 Ohio State in 2015, and 99 rushing yards as a sophomore in a win over Urban Meyer’s second-ranked Buckeyes in 2016. He accumulated a slew of personal accolades for the Nittany Lions before the Giants drafted him second overall following the 2017 season.
“I’m a big believer in setting goals,” Barkley said this summer. “But for me, I kind of just take care of the little things first, and everything else that I want to accomplish, all the things that you have to accomplish to become great, to create your legacy and become a Hall of Fame player, I just try to take care of that, and the rest will take care of itself.”
That mantra — take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves — has been ingrained at Penn State since Joe Paterno’s glory days, before Barkley ever arrived there. But it’s something he lives by. And in his relentless pursuit of excellence, greatness simply ends up being a byproduct.
What Barkley said about that iconic reverse hurdle — in which he caught a pass from Jalen Hurts in the flat, slipped a tackle, spun past another, and then turned and hurdled backward over a third for a 14-yard gain — was a perfect demonstration of this notion. That play, which will live forever, was just a byproduct of his natural pursuit of getting it done.
“What really happened was I was going to hit a double spin,” Barkley said. “I aborted it. So, when I spun, I went to spin again and I just like — it’s probably going to take away from how cool the play is — I really kind of, I thought he was going low. So, I was just like, it’ll be cool if I just jumped up, but my body kind of took over.
“I’ve got to give credit to God, man. “I’m not going to lie … I feel like God gave me the ability to play this position and gave me some instincts. Sometimes you’ve got to ‘let go and let God,’ and your instincts take over.”
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As the Eagles set forth to win another Super Bowl, they have an all-time great in their midst and leading the way. In June, Barkley went on to talk more about what fuels him, no matter the circumstance.
“The thing that drives me is the same thing that has been driving me since I was a little kid, and I’ve said it since I’ve gotten into the league (and) I don’t mean it in an arrogant way, I want to be the best running back to ever play, or at least one of the best running backs to ever play,” Barkley said. “I don’t think there’s a way you can prove who’s the best, but that’s always been my motivation. I feel like God’s blessed me with a unique ability and put me through a lot of adversity, and that’s still going to be my mindset.
“So, the love of the game, wanting to win, and wanting to compete and be great is always going to push me, no matter if we win four Super Bowls.”
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Christiaan DeFranco covers the Eagles, Phillies and other sports for MediaNews Group. Contact him at cdefranco@medianewsgroup.com. Follow him on X at @the_defranc.
