Saquon Barkley fantasy football insight from Hayden Winks - PPR Rankings

Barkley is the RB6 on RB5 usage over the past two seasons as an Eagle. Only Jonathan Taylor is averaging more carries per game (20.1) and only Derrick Henry is averaging more rushing yards per game (101). Of course, it was the tail of two seasons. Barkley was the RB1 overall in 2024 (21.6 half PPR points per game) as a Super Bowl champ before falling to RB14 last year when the Eagles were 19th in scoring. Which season is more likely? Probably neither. The Eagles are projected for the 12th most points per the betting markets with a new play caller and without A.J. Brown. Last year's OC ran out of ideas quickly, while new OC Sean Mannion comes from a very efficient and balanced Packers offense that allowed Josh Jacobs to be a 1st-round caliber player. Barkley will miss GOAT OL coach Jeff Stoutland, but there's hope that RT Lane Johnson (9 games), LG Landon Dickerson (14 games), and C Cam Jurgens (14 Games) play more and play healthier. The area he can improve on is short-yardage efficiency. Last year, Saquon scored 1 rushing TD on 11 carries inside the 5-yard line, on a brutal -85.9% rush yards over expected. That is absolutely not a Saquon stat. That's an injured OL stat, and it's a sign for positive regression. If Saquon does split the difference between RB1 and RB14, then he's a great pick at 14th overall on Underdog, especially in half PPR or standard. Saquon's floor seems pretty insulated after seeing the offense bust last year, so it's fair to ask who has the best ceiling between Saquon, James Cook (11th in ADP), Ashton Jeanty (12th), and De'Von Achane (13th) in thei...