New York Giants: Who’s primed for a better year Saquon Barkley or Ezekiel Elliott?

The NFC East contains two running back’s that have top-five potential in 2020. New York Giants‘ Saquon Barkley and Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott are the two players that will compete side-by-side for their establishment as the best back in the NFC East.

The question: Who will have a better year and why?

1.) Ezekiel Elliott

Elliott is going through some major changes on offense in 2020. The Cowboys replaced head coach Jason Garrett with Mike McCarthy. Elliott had performed extremely well under Garrett in previous years, but the team did keep Kellen Moore as their offensive coordinator. Their offense was focused primarily around the passing game in 2019, which took away from Elliott’s production as it was the first season in his career he didn’t lead the NFL in rushing yards per game.

The change in scheme and now the drafting of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb should not assist in Elliott’s efficiency moving forward. He will be more valued as a blocker and receiver than as a running back. They have a similar style to the Kansas City Chiefs, who rely on passes and intermediate throws to move the chains. To give you a good example of how the Dallas’ offense could change with McCarthy as their head coach when Ezekiel Elliott joined the team in 2016, their offense ranked 1st, 5th, 10th, and 8th and rush attempts per game.

Comparably, Mike McCarthy’s offenses ranked 29th, 27th, and 30nd during that same time span.

We can project that Elliott will have a far superior year than he has enjoyed in the past, which should give Saquon Barkley a heavy advantage.

2.) Saquon Barkley

General manager Dave Gettleman made it a priority to finally solve the offensive line this off-season. They drafted Andrew Thomas out of Georgia with the fourth overall pick and the University of Connecticut stand out Matt Peart in the third round.

The only player they allowed to hit free agency was Mike Remmers at right tackle, as the Giants feel confident they can either stick Thomas there to start his career or swap Nate Solder over.

Also, the center position has been shaky in the past few seasons. The New York Giants are keen on giving Nick Gates, Shane LeMieux, and Spencer Pulley an opportunity to steal the starting job from Jon Halapio.

How does this help Saquon Barkley?

Well, after suffering a high ankle sprain in 2019 and missing three games and playing the rest of them severely limited, the Giants’ back still managed to breach 1,000 rushing yards and over 400 receiving yards. While his total yards from scrimmage dipped by nearly 600, and his touchdowns were slashed in half, we know what a healthy Barkley looks like.

Considering the Giants are investing so much in their offensive line, we have to imagine that Barkley will benefit the most. In addition, Garrett’s scheme revolves heavily around 12 personnel and running the football. Having a running back like Barkley to utilize is Garrett’s dream, and the Giant should see an uptick in an offensive efficiency because of it.

Overall, the reason Barkley will have a better season depends on the scheme change and the fact that Kellen Moore enacts a pass-heavy offense. With that being said, Saquon should blow Elliott out of the water and 2020.