Eagles' Saquon Barkley calls out the best WR duo in the league, talks team identity

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley knows talent when he sees it.

And the Eagles are stacked with weapons, which Barkley didn't hesitate to call A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith the best wide receiver duo in the league .

"I think A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith ... Can you name a better wide receiver duo in the NFL? I don't think it's close," Barkley said during an appearance on the Scoop City podcast with Dianna Russini . "I do think Dallas is one of the best tight ends. We've got one of the best offensive lines. We've got one of the best quarterbacks. I believe I'm one of the best running backs in the NFL."

But while having talent is great and all, producing wins means a lot more.

"We have all of the talent, but it doesn't matter," he added. "If it looks good on paper, it doesn't matter."

We saw last year how having so much talent and very little communication or connection can destroy a team. But the Eagles are doing everything in their power to avoid a repeat of 2023 and are looking forward to reaching their full potential with the endless weapons they have.

According to Barkley, how the Eagles avoid those mistakes and replace them with wins starts with building an identity and a foundation. The Eagles are still working on figuring out their identity under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

"I don't think we know either, to be completely honest," Barkley said when asked how the Eagles will look in 2024. "We've got to build our identity now. Everybody's offense is pretty much the same in the NFL but everybody's got their different identity. And whatever our identity is going to be, which no one knows, that's what we have to figure out at camp.

"What do we do that we're really good at? ... What do we struggle with? How can we attack defenses? You get more of a true understanding when you start game planning against teams. Right now, you're not on the level. You're just really building from the ground up. The foundation. What our identity on offense is going to be. And same thing on defense with Vic and the boys."

The Eagles enter their second week of training camp this week and kick off their first preseason game on Aug. 9, where fans will get their first real glimpse of how the team's identity is coming together.

Related: Vic Fangio hypes up Eagles' first-round draft pick Quinyon Mitchell