Saquon Barkley with the New York Giants, 2018
With the New York Giants, 2018. Photo: AtlantaFX, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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

Best season
1,496
Rushing yards, 2016 (Penn State, 11–⁠3)
National rank
No. 10
In FBS in rushing touchdowns, 2016
Drafted
No. 2
Overall, 2018 NFL Draft (New York Giants)

Career highs

211rushing yards, career highat Iowa, 20174rushing touchdowns, career highat Pittsburgh, 201612catches, career highat Iowa, 2017142receiving yards, career highvs. Georgia State, 2017

Honors

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

Rushing yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2015Penn State1821,0765.9756
2016Penn State2721,4965.51881
2017Penn State2171,2715.91892
Career6713,8435.74392

Receiving

SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2015Penn State201618.1132
2016Penn State2840214.4444
2017Penn State5463211.7385
Career1021,19511.7885

Returns

SeasonTeamKRYdsTD
2016Penn State3740
2017Penn State154262
Career185002

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosHtWt
2015Penn State26RB
2016Penn State26RB
2017Penn State26RB5′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

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsageAdj. rush
2015Penn State2120.1147th (n=268)0.1222.529%0.13
2016Penn State3090.1865th (n=259)0.1355.633%0.25
2017Penn State2940.2886th (n=287)0.1283.231%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
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 2vs.AkronW 52–⁠01417223540
Sep 9vs.PittsburghW 33–⁠14148814451
Sep 16vs.Georgia StateW 56–⁠01047041421
Sep 23atIowaW 21–⁠1928211112940
Sep 30vs.IndianaW 45–⁠14205604510
Oct 7atNorthwesternW 31–⁠716752290
Oct 21vs.MichiganW 42–⁠131510823531
Oct 28atOhio StateL 38–⁠39214414230
Nov 4atMichigan StateL 24–⁠27146303330
Nov 11vs.RutgersW 35–⁠6143521200
Nov 18vs.NebraskaW 56–⁠441715836660
Nov 25atMarylandW 66–⁠316772140
Dec 30 ✦vs.WashingtonW 35–⁠281813727380
2016 Penn State 14 games, 1,496 rushing yards, 18 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 3vs.Kent StateW 33–⁠132210511170
Sep 10atPittsburghL 39–⁠42208542451
Sep 17vs.TempleW 34–⁠279681270
Sep 24atMichiganL 10–⁠49155905770
Oct 1vs.MinnesotaW 29–⁠26206311−30
Oct 8vs.MarylandW 38–⁠14312021–––
Oct 22vs.Ohio StateW 24–⁠2112990–––
Oct 29atPurdueW 62–⁠241820723700
Nov 5vs.IowaW 41–⁠142016711441
Nov 12atIndianaW 45–⁠31335822340
Nov 19atRutgersW 39–⁠0169212250
Nov 26vs.Michigan StateW 45–⁠12121412110
Dec 3vs.WisconsinW 38–⁠31198312201
Jan 2 ✦vs.USCL 49–⁠522519425551
2015 Penn State 11 games, 1,076 rushing yards, 7 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 5atTempleL 10–⁠27110–––
Sep 12vs.BuffaloW 27–⁠14121151–––
Sep 19vs.RutgersW 28–⁠3211952–––
Sep 26vs.San Diego StateW 37–⁠2186201221
Oct 17atOhio StateL 10–⁠38261940–––
Oct 24vs.MarylandW 31–⁠3020651–––
Oct 31vs.IllinoisW 39–⁠0208413580
Nov 7atNorthwesternL 21–⁠232512026500
Nov 21vs.MichiganL 16–⁠28156802190
Nov 28atMichigan StateL 16–⁠551710303−10
Jan 2 ✦vs.GeorgiaL 17–⁠24176905130

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2018
Height6′0″
Weight233 lb
Arm length31⅜″
Hand size9½″
Wingspan74¼″W
40-yard dash4.40 s
10-yard split1.54 sW
Vertical jump41″
Bench press29 reps
20-yard shuttle4.24 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.

SeasonTeamGCarYdsTDRecRec yds
2018New York Giants162611,3071191721
2019New York Giants132171,003652438
2020New York Giants219340660
2021New York Giants13162593241263
2022New York Giants162951,3121057338
2023New York Giants14247962641280
2024Philadelphia Eagles163452,0051333278
2025Philadelphia Eagles162801,140737273
2026 (so far)Philadelphia Eagles436182048
NFL career1101,8628,538553622,659

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).

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