After winning the 2018 Pepsi Rookie of the Year on Thursday, Saquon Barkley was awarded twice more on Saturday. Early Saturday afternoon, it was announced that Barkley won the 2018 FedEx Ground Player of the Year award. Saturday evening, the 2019 NFL Honors took place, and Saquon took home an award there, too.
The AP Offensive Rookie of the Year is Saquon Barkley. It was a battle between the number one and number two overall picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. Saquon beat out Baker Mayfield to take home the prestigious Offensive Rookie of the Year award. To win the FedEx award, Barkley beat out fellow running backs Ezekiel Elliot and Todd Gurley.
Baker Mayfield created good competition in the voting for Barkley. But in the end, Saquon won the voting with 26.5 votes, compared to Baker’s 21.5, and Quenton Nelson‘s 2.
Saquon Barkley’s Statistics
Saquon got it done on the ground this year with 1,307 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. This included an average of 5.0 yards per carry on 261 rushing attempts.
Not only did Saquon get it done on the ground, but he got it done through the air, too. Barkley totaled 2,028 scrimmage yards. His 91 receptions were a rookie running back record, and they amounted to 721 receiving yards and 4 receiving touchdowns.
A Piece Of New York Giants History
Saquon is the second New York Giant to win this award in the last five years. He is the third Giants player to be awarded with a rookie of the year award. Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. won the award in 2014. Odell and Saquon are the only two players in New York Giants franchise history to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Lawrence Taylor won defensive rookie of the year for the Giants in 1981.
Highlights From The NFL Honors
The NFL Honors even had Beckham Jr. present Barkley the award (along with the beautiful actress Vanessa Hudgens):
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1091885656131792896
Saquon’s rookie year was full of highlights. To commemorate his historic rookie season, the NFL broke down his top 10 plays of the season:
That rookie season: ?
Offensive Rookie of the Year @Saquon Barkley’s 10 BEST plays of 2018! #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/GHatV5JdAz
— NFL (@NFL) February 2, 2019