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The New York Giants are hoping that running back Saquon Barkley are hoping that he can get back to his 2019 self before he was hurt. Barkley has played in 15 games over his last two seasons and has looked like a shell of his former self. He totaled 627 yards and two touchdowns in that span, and New York needs him to get back to form.
2021 season statistics & fantasy finish
Rushing: Barkley ran the ball 162 times for 593 yards and two touchdowns last year.
Receiving: He brought in 41 of his 57 targets for 263 yards and two more touchdowns.
Fantasy: Barkley finished as the overall RB32 in half-PPR scoring formats with 128.1 fantasy points. He averaged 9.2 fantasy points per game.
New York Giants offseason moves
The Giants had two first round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. With the fifth overall pick, they selected Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux and then drafted Alabama OT Evan Neal. The latter should help Barkley in his quest to bounce back. New York also drafted Kentucky WR Wan’Dale Robinson, who should help improve the offense.
2022 best case scenario
We have seen the best-case scenario for Barkley before. In his rookie year, he totaled over 2,000 yards and had 15 total touchdowns and finished as a top running back in fantasy. If he stays healthy, Barkley has the talent to return to that production level. He could easily finish as a top-three running back in fantasy football this year in half-PPR formats.
2022 worst case scenario
The worst case scenario for Barkley is that the Giants' offense continues to be putrid, and he isn’t able to maintain any momentum. He played in 13 games last season and totaled under 700 yards with only four touchdowns. Other than the drafting of Neal, there haven’t been many moves that suggest they will be better this year. Barkley’s worst-case scenario is that he has another dud of a season and finishes as an RB3 or lower.
2022 prediction
I think Barkley is in line for a bounce back, but not as high as his best case scenario. He is just so talented that it is hard to imagine that he has a worse year than last year. Barkley almost has to be better. I think he finishes as a high-end RB2 in fantasy football this year.