Eagles rookie Will Shipley reveals best piece of advice he's received from Saquon Barkley

Philadelphia Eagles rookie running back Will Shipley has made the transition from college to the NFL look like a breeze so far.

That's not an easy thing to do for any first-year play, though it's certainly helped that Shipley has had veteran back Saquon Barkley to guide him in Philly.

On Tuesday, Shipley pointed out the quality that Barkley possesses that he's noticed and applied to his own day-to-day routine.

"He wants to be the best," Shipley said. "And that's how he carries himself, through meetings, outside of football. All in the facility. It's how he does things. And that's just what I have noticed ever since the very first time I talked to him. Shooting me a text right after I got drafted. He loves being the best at everything he does and that's a great thing to carry. Just his mindset and how he attacks things. His competitive nature. I think that's what essentially separates a lot of people is how competitive are you? How much do you hate losing? And he hates it a lot.

"Being around him for the couple of months that I have, it's been awesome to see," I think I'm very similar in that sense in terms of my competitive nature. So, to be able to work with him on that and see how he handles it and how does it. See how he's been able to navigate through that and be as good as he is has been awesome for me."

Best Piece of Advice Saquon Barkley Has Given Will Shipley

Aside from watching and taking mental notes from Barkley, Shipley has also received some from him.

His best advice? Take care of your body.

"He's given me a ton (of advice)," Shipley said. "I get multiple nuggets from him every day in the film room. Just simple things. But one of the biggest things I would say is take care of your body. I guarantee you that if he's not signing autographs right now he's in the weight room getting some post-practice rehab or in the training room fixing something up. That's just who he is. He's always on the go."

NFL running backs have the shortest shelf life of any position with the average running back's career length being less than three years. However, Barkley has managed to play and start for six seasons.

"Just taking care of your body because he's going into year seven and as a running back you want to play as long as you can in this league," Shipley said. "That's the name of the game is longevity being able to do it year after year. And he's been able to do that and he's going to continue to do that. So, just taking care of your body and getting as much out of this league as it gets out of you."

Shipley appears to have taken everything that he's learned from Barkley to heart since he's done nothing but shine this offseason in a crowded running back room and is on tap to make the 53-man roster next week.

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