Saquon Barkley vs Derrick Henry

“Saquon Barkley (RB, Eagles) was the top-rated player from the NFL Top 100 for the 2025 season.”

“Eagles RB Saquon Barkley recalled being annoyed by Sirianni during his time with the Giants, but his viewpoint changed after coming to Philadelphia. "When you're going against it, you can't stand it," Barkley said. "If you don't know Nick Sirianni, it's easy not to like Nick Sirianni."”

“He averaged 14.5 PPR fantasy points per game last season, his lowest mark since 2021. Furthermore, Barkley averaged 4.1 yards per rushing attempt and had 13 breakaway runs last year. By comparison, he averaged 5.8 yards per rushing attempt and had 25 breakaway runs during his 2024 fantasy MVP season. After finishing last year as the RB14, fantasy players should avoid drafting Barkley at his $31 value, the ninth-highest among running backs.”

“The former Penn State star averaged 14.5 PPR fantasy points per game last season, his lowest mark since 2021. Furthermore, he averaged 4.1 yards per rushing attempt and had 13 breakaway runs last year. By comparison, Barkley averaged 5.8 yards per rushing attempt and had 25 breakaway runs during his 2024 fantasy MVP season.”

“Barkley's target volume will be heavily dependent on Mannion's concerted effort to design opportunities for him. Should he neglect to do so, this will be more mediocre usage of one of the team's most explosive assets.”

“Stacking this on top of an expected positive regression back to the Eagles' 2024 run-blocking prowess (76.9 PFF grade – 4th) could rejuvenate his true RB1 ceiling.”

“Barkley is a major beneficiary of this system, which heavily prioritizes RBs in the passing game via designed screens, wheel routes, and play-action checkdowns. In Mannion's timing-based scheme, play-action will freeze second-level defenders, leaving Barkley wide open on underneath routes to turn his 60 projected targets into high-value PPR production.”

“After finishing last year as the RB14, Barkley averaged 14.5 PPR fantasy points per game, his lowest mark since 2021, and averaged 4.1 yards per rushing attempt and had 13 breakaway runs, compared to 5.8 yards per rushing attempt and 25 breakaway runs during his fantasy MVP season in 2024. Fantasy players should avoid drafting Barkley as a mid-range RB1.”

“Saquon Barkley reached out to former Rams RB Todd Gurley to ask for his advice as he seeks to have a bounce-back season in 2026. Barkley said he felt he was able to get himself in better shape coming into the offseason with extra weeks to prepare after an earlier-than-desired end to the season.”

“Landing Saquon Barkley at pick 2.12 was ideal.”

“They also noted declines in some of Barkley's efficiency metrics over the last two seasons and questioned whether Philadelphia's offensive line could remain dominant enough to support another elite finish.”

“A major point raised was the historical difficulty of repeating massive workload seasons. The hosts emphasized that Barkley benefited from outstanding offensive line play and extremely favorable rushing conditions during his huge 2024 campaign.”

“Derrick Henry's 30.2 Sleeper ADP is a classic case of dynasty anxiety ruining redraft logic. Managers see his age and automatically assume a total collapse, completely ignoring the fact he ran for 1,500+ yards and 16 touchdowns last season. Henry remains the ultimate hammer in a Baltimore Ravens offense that completely sanitizes his negative game scripts. He retains a locked-in monopoly on goal-line touches and high-value red-zone opportunities.”

“While some won't draft Henry for fear his age makes him an injury risk, the veteran has played in at least 15 games in all but one year of his career, including 17 contests in three consecutive seasons. He was RB8 last year, averaging 16.4 PPR fantasy points per game despite totaling only 15 receptions, 18 fewer than any other running back to finish top 20.”

“At the end of the day, drafting Henry is a bet that he can continue to stiff-arm Father Time and post the best rushing season of the last two decades for a player this old. But there are other elite-upside players at his ADP without the red flags, so the juice is not worth the squeeze.”

“The issue with Henry is that, coming off a season with fewer than one reception per game, he needs to be absolutely dominant on the ground to provide elite fantasy value. And in recent history, the list of dominant rushing seasons by players 32 or older is essentially nonexistent.”

“Derrick Henry is just one representative of a simple site-wide trend: ESPN drafters love running backs compared to the expert consensus. His positional ECR is RB13; his ESPN ADP is RB10, where experts see King Henry as a high-end RB2, ESPN drafters still view him as a top-10 option.”

“The veteran has played in at least 15 games in all but one year of his career, including 17 contests in three consecutive seasons. He was RB8 last year, averaging 16.4 PPR fantasy points per game despite totaling only 15 receptions. He had at least 1,150 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in four consecutive seasons, finishing as a top-eight running back every year.”

“That might be the right move and use that "leftover" $12 on a more impactful player, such as moving from Derrick Henry to Jahmyr Gibbs.”

“The future Hall of Famer has a lot of miles on him, but is ready to make another big impact in his eleventh NFL season. "I love putting the work in, conditioning, being in the weight room, being around the guys, and putting the work in in the offseason," Henry said.”

“We saw it in 2024 with Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, for example.”

“Robinson is expected to surpass Derrick Henry ($15MM AAV) in his contract negotiations.”

“Derrick Henry is defying all the odds of being able to continue playing the running back position at such a high level at his age, but he will be 33, turning 34 in the 2027 season. While he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down yet, it's time for the Ravens to start looking for his long-term replacement.”