Philadelphia Eagles star tackle Lane Johnson just dropped a bomb, saying we are about to see the Saquon Barkley from two years ago. Yeah, the guy who was tearing it up back in 2024. This isn’t just Johnson hyping up a teammate; he’s talking about a fundamental shift in Sean Mannion’s offense, one that could finally unleash Barkley’s full explosive potential.
Saquon Unleashed: The Promise of 2024 Form
Johnson isn’t mincing words about what’s coming for Barkley in this new scheme. Speaking from joint practice with the New England Patriots this week, Johnson was practically gushing about how well the Eagles’ wide run plays are going to fit Barkley’s insane ability. More than that, the Eagles are planning to get the ball into his hands way more often. Johnson sees it clear as day: “The more productive we are in the run game and stuff feeds off that, we’ll see the Saquon from two years ago. We’ll see the big plays, we’ll see him flex wide at wide receiver, we’ll see him in the screen game.” Sounds like they are seriously committing to getting him involved, right? Barkley has already had a strong training camp, and this new outside zone running scheme is designed to get him back to that Offensive Player of the Year level he hit in 2024. It’s about time.
Breaking The 300-Yard Curse?
Look, we’ve heard this song before. Every summer it feels like we talk about the Eagles finally throwing to their backs, and every year it just doesn’t happen. It’s wild, but the Eagles have not had a running back hit 300 receiving yards in a season under Nick Sirianni. Their last guy to do it was Miles Sanders with 509 yards all the way back in 2019. Think about that: since 2021, the Eagles are one of only two NFL teams, alongside the Rams, without a single back hitting that 300-yard receiving mark. But this summer? It feels different. They’ve spent a ton of time working on the passing game with their backs, and on Day 1 of joint practices with the Patriots outside Gillette Stadium, Barkley and the other running backs were heavily involved in both the run and passing game. Johnson saw it today: “We’ll see the big plays, we’ll see (Saquon) flex out at wide receiver, we’ll see him in the screen game. So we saw just a little bit of it today.” Could this finally be the year?
Early Scrimmage Checks
While all this Barkley hype is real, the joint practice itself had some ups and downs. The Patriots actually looked like the better team on Day 1. They started strong, and even though the Eagles clawed back some ground, New England ultimately finished on top. It wasn’t a complete blowout; the Birds weren’t “thoroughly dominated,” but it definitely wasn’t a clean sweep. There’s clearly still work to do. But for Saquon? The chatter is undeniable. You have to wonder what’s next for Barkley and this offense as they continue grinding through camp, pushing to get him ready for Week 1.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleeding Green Nation.
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