Best free agent ever? The story behind Barkley's stunning season

Free cause signings successful the NFL often committedness a batch much than they deliver. Paying escaped cause moving backs large wealth has ever been a immense gamble and has often been a large mistake.

Saquon Barkley has proved to beryllium the biggest and champion objection to those communal concern rules successful the league, having compiled 1 of the top seasons successful NFL history.

On Sunday helium gets the accidental to headdress it each with a Super Bowl triumph erstwhile his Philadelphia Eagles instrumentality connected the Kansas City Chiefs successful New Orleans.

Barkley's brilliance this play has besides shaken up the conception that moving backs were expendable, purely benefits of the strategy and easy replaceable - arsenic he's been astir apt the biggest x-factor successful the full NFL.

Some flimsy wounded concerns and immoderate large fiscal issues meant the New York Giants allowed him to permission successful escaped bureau past summertime and articulation their large rivals the Eagles.

What followed was an MVP-calibre play filled with highlight-reel runs, records smashed and a vocation twelvemonth that volition culminate connected Sunday.

Super Bowl Sunday, coincidentally, conscionable happens to beryllium Barkley's 28th birthday. Sometimes information is alien than fiction.

After six seasons successful New York, the erstwhile 2nd wide draught prime joined the Eagles connected a three-year, $38m (£30.6m) deal.

The Eagles started the play playing the archetypal NFL regular play crippled successful Brazil. The large question against the Green Bay Packers was if Barkley was worthy that money.

Cue 132 full yards and 3 touchdowns connected his Eagles debut. Question answered - emphatically.

From determination helium became conscionable the ninth subordinate to unreserved for 2,000 yards successful a season, and the Giants were lone spared the ignominy of their erstwhile prima breaking Eric Dickerson's long-standing rushing grounds against them arsenic helium was rested for the last crippled of the season.

He finished the regular play with 2,005 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns with a further 278 receiving yards and 2 scores, and has added a further 442 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns erstwhile lighting up the play-offs.

Barkley volition nary uncertainty interruption 2 much records successful the Super Bowl. With 2,447 helium needs 30 rushing yards to surpass the large Terrell Davis for the astir successful a season, including the play-offs, and astatine 2,760 full yards he's conscionable 2 down Davis' existent benchmark.

Only Davis and Barkley person managed implicit 400 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns successful 1 play-off campaign.

The wide numbers are hugely impressive, but it's the quality of the menace Barkley brings and the timing of that menace that makes him a existent asset.

Barkley is what they telephone a 'home tally hitter', meaning helium tin interruption disconnected an explosive agelong tally astatine immoderate fixed infinitesimal - from the archetypal infinitesimal to the past - acknowledgment to his freakish operation of spot and speed.

He has an NFL grounds 7 touchdown runs of 60 yards oregon much this season, which is 3 much than anyone other has ever managed successful a azygous campaign.

Barkley has produced 3 of these runs successful this year's play-offs alone. No different subordinate has tally for 3 60-yard touchdowns successful the play-offs successful their full career.

He scored with his archetypal interaction of the NFC Championship against Washington and completed his hat-trick successful the 4th quarter. He scored successful the archetypal and 4th quarters against the Los Angeles Rams.

Barkley scored highlight-reel touchdowns from 60, 62 and 78 yards, but besides added 2 from 4 yards retired arsenic his lateral quickness adds yet different limb to his rushing arsenal.

You tin vessel him up for ample periods, but you cannot support him down - helium tin people from anyplace astatine immoderate time. The Eagles are not a one-man squad by immoderate means, but marque nary mistake astir it - Barkley is their x-factor.

In short, money. Giants wide manager Joe Schoen famously did not privation to wage what Barkley was asking arsenic the squad had handed retired a $160m (£129m) woody to backmost Daniel Jones.

Instead, Schoen wanted to walk the wage headdress fund connected protecting Jones. Sadly for Schoen, the determination was made successful beforehand of the TV cameras filming the fashionable documentary bid Hard Knocks.

"Daniel is making a batch of money," Schoen present infamously said. "We've got to fig retired if he's the guy. So, we've got to support him, we've got to enactment resources there.

"You're paying the feline $40m. It's not to manus the shot disconnected to a $12m back."

Not lone did this play retired successful public, but Barkley past joined their divisional rivals and is present connected the verge of Super Bowl glory and an all-world season.

And for other brackish successful the wounds, Jones was past released by the Giants successful November aft proving helium was precise overmuch not their guy.

Philadelphia wide manager Howie Roseman had nary hesitation successful handing Barkley what equates to astir $12.6m (£10.2m) a play - the 3rd highest magnitude for a existent moving back.

"It was not a hard trigger to pull," said Roseman. "I'd similar to accidental he's exceeded expectations, but he's ever been 1 of the champion players I've ever seen.

"So I'm truly not amazed by immoderate of this, and I don't accidental that successful an arrogant way, it's based connected who helium is, thing to bash with me, due to the fact that this is who he's ever been. And I'm conscionable gladsome everyone gets to spot that."

Derrick Henry had different immense play aft signing for the Baltimore Ravens arsenic a escaped cause moving back, but does that mean much volition travel suit?

Barkley and Henry are generational talents, and Barkley whitethorn good spell down arsenic 1 of the champion ever erstwhile his clip successful Philadelphia is over.

Running backs are seen arsenic replaceable arsenic galore judge they are lone arsenic bully arsenic the squad astir them - if their violative enactment tin unfastened up abstraction for them to run.

True, the Eagles person 1 of the champion successful the game, but Barkley finds holes wherever determination are none, and he's proven that a endowment similar his deserves to play connected a squad that tin showcase it best.

Running backs whitethorn not abruptly go the go-to escaped cause signing, but Barkley was close to beryllium paid - and connected Sunday successful New Orleans helium could supply that 1 magical infinitesimal that makes each the difference.

If helium does, it volition beryllium wealth very, precise good spent.