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Eagles’ Star Saquon Barkley Leaps onto Madden 26 Cover

Eagles’ Star Saquon Barkley Leaps onto Madden 26 Cover

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By: Sean Barnard

There are very few plays that deserve the “video game-like” label as much as Saquon Barkley’s reverse no-look hurdle he showcased in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In proper fashion, this moment will be immortalized by landing on the Madden 26 cover.

Speculation has been surrounding this for several weeks, with there seeming to be some interesting promotional events taking place in Philadelphia soon. This comes less than four months after Barkley helped lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory after an impressive first season with the franchise.

In addition, Barkley has been named to the Madden 99 Club ahead of this year’s game. He becomes the first offensive player in Eagles franchise history to crack this exclusive list. Unsurprisingly, he boasts the top ratings in the game for spin move, juke, agility and change of direction.

This all comes after a wildly successful season during Barkley’s first season in Philadelphia. After spending the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Giants, he hopped across the NFC East to join the former divisional rival. The Penn State product earned AP Offensive Player of the Year honors and is coming off arguably the best season for a running back in NFL history. Barkley rushed for 2,504 total yards in the regular season and playoffs combined, which broke the single-season record, and added 20 total touchdowns.

He fell just 101 yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s regular-season rushing title, but the Eagles elected to rest Barkley the final week of the regular season against the Giants to preserve him for the playoffs. This effort worked out as he rushed for 499 additional yards in the playoffs and was crucial to the Eagles earning their second Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

Philadelphia will be looking to run it back this season with most of its core remaining in place. The Eagles enter the season as Super Bowl favorites at +650 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook and hold +300 odds of winning the NFC. Saquon Barkley himself is also the favorite to repeat as Offensive Player of the Year at +650 odds while holding +5000 odds of winning MVP. These are the best odds among any non-quarterback.

Sean Barnard
Sean Barnard
Sean Barnard is a Philadelphia-based writer with experience in the sports media and the betting space since 2020. He has a particular focus on the NBA, but covers a wide range that includes the NFL, WNBA, college basketball, and the MLB. Sean started working for DraftKings Network in 2024. Prior to this you can read his work at ClutchPoints, Philly Sports Network, and Heavy Sports. He also is still active in the Philadelphia Sports Radio scene and is a writer for Crossing Broad.
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