Saquon Barkley has been phenomenal during his first season as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. During his first 10 games in an Eagles uniform, Barkley recorded 1,137 rushing yards, 210 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns. In the process, Barkley has completely transformed Philadelphia's offense, and he's a huge part of the reason that the Birds sit at 8-2 after 10 games of action.
Jason Kelce explains why Saquon Barkley should be considered for NFL MVP
As a result of his productive play, Barkley's name has popped up in the NFL MVP conversation, and during a recent episode of his New Heights podcast, former Eagles center Jason Kelce perfectly laid out Barkley's MVP case.
"Saquon is so good, man," Kelce said of Barkley. "The speed and jumping over people, he's got such good vision. He makes so many plays and makes reads that I've never seen or played with a guy make. ... Saquon does so many things. He's patient when he needs to be, he gets through the hole with explosion when he needs to, he hits it front side or back side, he's running duo, he can get it to that back side. He just does a phenomenal job of creating runs.
"There can absolutely be a case made for Saquon Barkley this year in the way he's playing and how he has elevated the offense," Kelce added. "He has made the offense and the team so much better. I think it's a very good argument that he is the most valuable component to a team this season."
“Anybody that’s taking touchdowns away from Saquon Barkley like that’s making him less valuable shouldn’t even be allowed to choose who an MVP is”
— New Heights (@newheightshow) November 21, 2024
Jason laid out the case for Saquon to be the MVP pic.twitter.com/ai715re4d9
While Barkley may be extremely deserving of the hardware, the fact of the matter is that he's unlikely to win the award, as quarterbacks take it home the majority of the time. The last non-QB to win MVP was running back Adrian Peterson back in 2012. A quarterback has won the award in each of the last 11 years.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Barkley isn't the only Eagles player who has popped up in MVP talks, as quarterback Jalen Hurts has also moved towards the top of the conversation. Remember, Hurts finished second in MVP voting behind Patrick Mahomes in 2022.
Josh Allen is now the favorite to be named MVP 🏆🦬 pic.twitter.com/e0VoLwyjMG
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 18, 2024
There's still seven weeks of action in the 2024 NFL season, and what happens during that time will go a long way towards determining who ultimately wins the NFL's top individual honor. If an Eagles player does win, it will be the first time since 1960 when Norm Van Brocklin won the award.