
Running back, Penn State, 2015–17
Saquon Barkley
- Number
- No. 26
- Height
- 5′11″
- Weight
- 230 lb
- Hometown
- Coplay, PA
- Born
- Feb 9, 1997, in The Bronx, New York
Wikipedia readers: about 53,496 a month over the past year
Saquon Barkley played running back at Penn State (2015–17). He won the 2017 Paul Hornung Award. He finished fourth in the 2017 Heisman vote and was a consensus All‑American in 2017. The New York Giants took Barkley in the first round, No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
211rushing yards, career highat Iowa, 20174rushing touchdowns, career highat Pittsburgh, 201612catches, career highat Iowa, 2017142receiving yards, career highvs. Georgia State, 2017Honors
- 2015Second-team All-Big Ten
- 2016, 2017Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year
- 2016, 2017Big Ten Running Back of the Year
- 2016, 2017Chicago Tribune Silver Football
- 2016, 2017First-team All-Big Ten
- 2017Paul Hornung Award
- 2017Consensus All‑American
- 2017Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year
- 2017Fourth in the Heisman vote
Team titles: Big Ten champions, 2016
Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.
Rushing
| Season | Team | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Penn State | 182 | 1,076 | 5.9 | 7 | 56 |
| 2016 | Penn State | 272 | 1,496 | 5.5 | 18 | 81 |
| 2017 | Penn State | 217 | 1,271 | 5.9 | 18 | 92 |
| Career | 671 | 3,843 | 5.7 | 43 | 92 | |
Receiving
| Season | Team | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Penn State | 20 | 161 | 8.1 | 1 | 32 |
| 2016 | Penn State | 28 | 402 | 14.4 | 4 | 44 |
| 2017 | Penn State | 54 | 632 | 11.7 | 3 | 85 |
| Career | 102 | 1,195 | 11.7 | 8 | 85 | |
Returns
| Season | Team | KR | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Penn State | 3 | 74 | 0 |
| 2017 | Penn State | 15 | 426 | 2 |
| Career | 18 | 500 | 2 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Penn State | 26 | RB | ||
| 2016 | Penn State | 26 | RB | ||
| 2017 | Penn State | 26 | RB | 5′11″ | 230 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage | Adj. rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Penn State | 212 | 0.11 | 47th (n=268) | 0.12 | 22.5 | 29% | 0.13 |
| 2016 | Penn State | 309 | 0.18 | 65th (n=259) | 0.13 | 55.6 | 33% | 0.25 |
| 2017 | Penn State | 294 | 0.28 | 86th (n=287) | 0.12 | 83.2 | 31% | 0.36 |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2017 Penn State 13 games, 1,271 rushing yards, 18 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. | W 52–0 | 14 | 172 | 2 | 3 | 54 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | vs. | W 33–14 | 14 | 88 | 1 | 4 | 45 | 1 |
| Sep 16 | vs. | W 56–0 | 10 | 47 | 0 | 4 | 142 | 1 |
| Sep 23 | at | W 21–19 | 28 | 211 | 1 | 12 | 94 | 0 |
| Sep 30 | vs. | W 45–14 | 20 | 56 | 0 | 4 | 51 | 0 |
| Oct 7 | at | W 31–7 | 16 | 75 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | vs. | W 42–13 | 15 | 108 | 2 | 3 | 53 | 1 |
| Oct 28 | at | L 38–39 | 21 | 44 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | at | L 24–27 | 14 | 63 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 0 |
| Nov 11 | vs. | W 35–6 | 14 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 0 |
| Nov 18 | vs. | W 56–44 | 17 | 158 | 3 | 6 | 66 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | at | W 66–3 | 16 | 77 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Dec 30 ✦ | vs. | W 35–28 | 18 | 137 | 2 | 7 | 38 | 0 |
2016 Penn State 14 games, 1,496 rushing yards, 18 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. | W 33–13 | 22 | 105 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 0 |
| Sep 10 | at | L 39–42 | 20 | 85 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 1 |
| Sep 17 | vs. | W 34–27 | 9 | 68 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Sep 24 | at | L 10–49 | 15 | 59 | 0 | 5 | 77 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | vs. | W 29–26 | 20 | 63 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | vs. | W 38–14 | 31 | 202 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Oct 22 | vs. | W 24–21 | 12 | 99 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Oct 29 | at | W 62–24 | 18 | 207 | 2 | 3 | 70 | 0 |
| Nov 5 | vs. | W 41–14 | 20 | 167 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 1 |
| Nov 12 | at | W 45–31 | 33 | 58 | 2 | 2 | 34 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | at | W 39–0 | 16 | 92 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 0 |
| Nov 26 | vs. | W 45–12 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Dec 3 | vs. | W 38–31 | 19 | 83 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 1 |
| Jan 2 ✦ | vs. | L 49–52 | 25 | 194 | 2 | 5 | 55 | 1 |
2015 Penn State 11 games, 1,076 rushing yards, 7 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Car | Rush yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at | L 10–27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Sep 12 | vs. | W 27–14 | 12 | 115 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Sep 19 | vs. | W 28–3 | 21 | 195 | 2 | – | – | – |
| Sep 26 | vs. | W 37–21 | 8 | 62 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 1 |
| Oct 17 | at | L 10–38 | 26 | 194 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Oct 24 | vs. | W 31–30 | 20 | 65 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Oct 31 | vs. | W 39–0 | 20 | 84 | 1 | 3 | 58 | 0 |
| Nov 7 | at | L 21–23 | 25 | 120 | 2 | 6 | 50 | 0 |
| Nov 21 | vs. | L 16–28 | 15 | 68 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0 |
| Nov 28 | at | L 16–55 | 17 | 103 | 0 | 3 | −1 | 0 |
| Jan 2 ✦ | vs. | L 17–24 | 17 | 69 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2018 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′0″ |
| Weight | 233 lb |
| Arm length | 31⅜″ |
| Hand size | 9½″ |
| Wingspan | 74¼″W |
| 40-yard dash | 4.40 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.54 sW |
| Vertical jump | 41″ |
| Bench press | 29 reps |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.24 s |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
9 seasons, 110 games with a stat; latest team: Philadelphia Eagles.
Pro Bowls: 3 (2018, 2022, 2024) · First-team All-Pro (AP): 2024
All-Pro teams: AP first team 2024; Pro Football Writers first team 2024; Sporting News first team 2018, 2022, 2024.
| Season | Team | G | Car | Yds | TD | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | New York Giants | 16 | 261 | 1,307 | 11 | 91 | 721 |
| 2019 | New York Giants | 13 | 217 | 1,003 | 6 | 52 | 438 |
| 2020 | New York Giants | 2 | 19 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 60 |
| 2021 | New York Giants | 13 | 162 | 593 | 2 | 41 | 263 |
| 2022 | New York Giants | 16 | 295 | 1,312 | 10 | 57 | 338 |
| 2023 | New York Giants | 14 | 247 | 962 | 6 | 41 | 280 |
| 2024 | Philadelphia Eagles | 16 | 345 | 2,005 | 13 | 33 | 278 |
| 2025 | Philadelphia Eagles | 16 | 280 | 1,140 | 7 | 37 | 273 |
| 2026 (so far) | Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 36 | 182 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| NFL career | 110 | 1,862 | 8,538 | 55 | 362 | 2,659 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.