New York Giants: Saquon Barkley Wins Offensive Rookie of the Year Award

Nov 25, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) scores a touchdown past Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas (32) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

On the list of things that the New York Giants fans can celebrate after last season, the rise of Saquon Barkley is near the top. The Giants spent the second overall pick on Barkley and while there were some doubts early on about whether or not they should have drafted a quarterback, those were quickly moved to the back-burner when Barkley provided immediate value for the team and lifted them as one of their best offensive players.

Barkley has received a lot of attention from around the league because of his status as one of the best running backs in the league despite his rookie status, and now, the Pro Football Writers of America have recognized that status by awarding Barkley the title of Offensive Rookie of the Year. When it was all said and done, there weren’t many other players that would have made sense as the award recipient. Barkley was just that good this year.

What did the year look like by the numbers? Barkley finished with 1,307 yards on 261 rushing attempts while playing behind the subpar Giants offensive line. Additionally, all but two of the rushing touchdowns scored by the Giants last season were scored by Barkley, who also dominated attempts while playing in front of Wayne Gallman.

Barkley was snubbed from the All-Pro teams earlier this month, so winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award is a nice consolation. It’s no MVP award, of course, but there will be time for that in the future. After all, it’s easy to forget at this point, after everything that’s happened this season, that Barkley is still a rookie that was still playing in college around the same time last year.

One can only hope that soon, the New York Giants get the right players to help out Barkley and avoid wasting more good years from him.