This was a no-brainer, the easiest selection of the 12 most impactful Eagles during their Super Bowl-championship season.
So easy, so much of a no-brainer, that Saquon Barkley was the unanimous pick to be No. 1 on the “Dominant Dozen” list compiled by Eagles on SI reporters Ed Kracz and John McMullen. The two beat writers compiled independent lists of the 12 most impactful Eagles during their Super Bowl LIX-winning season, with No. 1 being awarded 12 points, down to the 12th man earning one point.
Barkley collected all 24 points possible for being at the top of both lists.
The final list looks like this:
1) Saquon Barkley (24)
2) Zack Baun (20)
3) Jalen Hurts (19)
4) Jalen Carter (19)
5) Cooper DeJean (15)
6) Lane Johnson (14)
7) Quinyon Mitchell (10)
8) A.J. Brown (9, wins tiebreaker)
9) Nakobe Dean (9)
10) Jordan Mailata (7)
11) Cam Jurgens (4)
12) DeVonta Smith (3)
Others receiving votes who just missed were Nolan Smith and Darius Slay.
The list of Barkley’s accomplishments from the past season are too long to mention.
The highlights, of course, were his 2,005 yards rushing, which were the eighth-most in league history. He likely would have broken the 41-year-old record for most rushing yards in a season of 2,105 set by Eric Dickerson had the starters not taken the final regular-season game off against the woeful New York Giants.
Still, Barkley broke the single-season record for most rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs combined with 2,504, a mark that had stood since Hall of Famer Terrell Davis set it in 1998.
Barkley set the record for most touchdown runs of 60-plus yards with a remarkable seven and he had 14 games, counting the postseason with at least 100 yards. His 255 yards against the L.A. Rams on Nov. 24 set a franchise-record for most rushing yards in a game.
A no-brainer, indeed. There wasn’t a single pick on their top 12 list the Kracz and McMullen agreed upon. Except our No. 1 player.
How could it have been anyone else but Barkley?
