Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs clash in Brazil with new teams | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

talk about the running game it's going to take some getting used to especially for saquan Barkley since they were in the same division but seeing him in that Eagles green is it's going to be really weird initially I'm I'm really gonna have to to take some time to get used to to seeing him in that Eagles green and I'm sure Giants fans will never get used to seeing him in Eagles green um but I expect him to have a big year and I expect Josh Jacobs to have a big year and this is their both debuts with their new teams two of the best running backs in the NFL so that's going to be something to watch tonight the two guys who were at the center of the off season and pre-season contract controversy franchise tag didn't get long-term deals in 2023 finished their contracts became free agents there was never any serious belief that Jacobs going to stay with the Raiders or that Barkley was going to stay with the Eagles I think in hindsight if the Eagles or if the Giants excuse me had known that Barkley was going to go to the Eagles maybe they would have approached the situation a little bit differently but that's what the Giants now have to deal with as Barkley gets ready to get his start in Philadelphia and on that point here's Tony Dunes sit down with Eagles coach Nick serani on this issue of the new running back in Philadelphia saquan Barkley he's as advertised too you know I talked about Kellen and Vic being as advertised this guy is advertised and what's what's great about saquan is the play we all can look at all the plays and it speaks for itself right I mean I always mention this when I talk about him like when we played them he he'd make these guys miss on the sideline and sideline tackling against the the Giants every year was like Hey sideline tackling you better use that sideline as a friend you overp pursue this he is going to make you miss and so not to have that on on your team is like he actually saquin going into how great of a teammate he is when we do sideline tackling drill he's always out there giving them a sideline look I mean because that's what good te you know um Vic says this to me and I've said this to the team a lot is like good teams have good players great teams have great teammates and uh and saquon's a great teammate his play speaks for itself um but what a great teammate and and has he kind of energized the team a little bit knowing that that he's here and anytime you you add the talent to the guys you get the guys get excited anytime you know and when you're watching tape as a team you know after every practice we watch that tape as a team not you know as a full team right I think it's really important to do that where the offense is seeing the mistakes of the defense and VI and the and vice versa and the good plays because I want them to get excited about it so yeah it's it's energized everybody because we know what a special player he is and what a special uh teammate he is and what a special person he is sometimes you need a veteran like that who can come in and maybe shake things uh whatever went wrong for the Eagles last year down the stretch saquon Barkley can be a key ingredient in hitting the reset button and moving on from it we still don't know why specifically things went haywire and I do have concerns that maybe it's not going to be fixed so quickly but Barkley can be the key ingredient to forgetting about last year and focusing on this year especially because his main focus is going to be make the giants look stupid for not keeping him around well and that could be his biggest impact Mike is in the locker room as a leader because he is that and he can be that uh for the Eagles and maybe they wouldn't have had the collapse last year that they had if saquan Barkley had been there but he's goingon to have an impact on the field too as long as he stays healthy we know that he indicated I was reading and I couldn't get into the article I need to further investigate it but that the Giants stifled him really and he's going to get his first opportunity to really show what he can do well this this is your opportunity saquan to show that you the Giants didn't get everything out of you that that you think you can be left some meat on the bone so to speak this will be his opportunity this year to show that stifled him he was the best player they had exactly but for injuries which are inherent to the position he would have probably been on some historic Paces he would have been Christian mcaffrey really over the past several years he he proved that he deserved to be drafted as high as he was back in 2018 third over third second overall pick in the in that draft by the New York Giants so he's been spectacular the real question is and I think back to the Hard Knocks offseason addition with the New York Giants I feel like Joe Shane the GM of the team had the mindset of running backs are interchangeable we can find somebody else you don't overpay anyone at the position and there were some voices in some of those meetings which was one of the big reasons why I thought it wasn't good for the Giants to have this out there but there were some folks who were like sequ might be different and that's just an extra little reason for him to be motivated to prove that that they got it wrong in not keeping him so who makes the bigger impact we've been talking about Josh Jacobs going from the Raiders to the Packers Barkley going from the Giants to the eagles which of the two do you think makes the bigger impact is the hardest question that we'll face today Mike because I don't know I think they both have an impact and you said there's certain running backs who who are going to have that impact who deserve to be paid more and I think these both of these guys are I'll go with saquan and the reason is I just think that offense is so good that he's gonna have more opportunities um because the offense is so good but on the other hand you know I he's gonna be a Josh Jacobs gonna be a big part of the Packers here it's a tough question I'll go with saquin but reluctantly because I think Josh Jacobs is gonna have as big an impact in Green Bay as saquan has in Philadelphia I think it's going to be Josh Jacobs and I'm glancing down here at the contract details I had forgotten that the Jacobs deal is basically a one-year deal with a year-to-year option held by the Packers after that Barkley's guaranteed two years so there's going to be a greater urgency with Jacobs to unlock the second year of the deal and when you've got Jordan love all due respect to Jaylen Herz but Jordan love has developed into a better passing threat already than a lot of quarterbacks Jaylen Herz isn't the only one that that was Lea frogged by Jordan love last year but you bring in a battering ram running back to augment that passing game that's one of the reason why I think the Packers are going to the Super Bowl and this is so out of character for the Packers yeah it is they don't spend on free agents and when they do it's usually defensive not offensive the idea that they went out and chased a guy who plays a position where when you're a draft and developed team the ultimate draft and develop position is running back you're going out and paying this guy and again it's only 12 and a half million it looks like a bigger risk than it is I think Jacobs might have the bigger impact because I think we're not anticipating it the same way that we're looking at hey Sequon Barkley what well oh he's going to step into that offense and he's going to be dual threat and he's motivated I just think we're not paying attention to Jacobs the way we should be which will lead as a practical matter to the perception that he made a bigger impact and they're both really good and I think both have a really big impact on their teams if they stay healthy and that's that's been part of the problems especially with saquin is just staying onto the field but if they both do that I think it's going to be an equal impact for both of them I think they they both really impact their teams and I think the Raiders and and Giants probably are going to look back with some regret that they let these guys go and I know the philosophy of you pay any running back and they're going to come in and they're going to do it Cowboys are trying that this year running back by committee I don't think it's going to work I think the Eagles are way better off in their division with a a solid running back and saquin Barkley one of the best backs in football than the Cowboys are with the an over the hill Ezekiel Elliott as they starting running back and dwaddle coming in and probably getting more carries than Elliott and I think that's probably going to be a difference for the Eagles winning the division over the Cowboys is at the running back position hi it's Mike Florio thanks for watching PFT on YouTube hit subscribe for the latest news and Analysis from pro football talk