Saquon Barkley explains mantra for first season with Eagles

Star running back Saquon Barkley spent his first six NFL seasons with the New York Giants but left that organization via free agency to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles this past March.

Barkley read "Victory Favors the Fearless" ahead of attending his first training camp practice as a member of the Eagles and has embraced that mantra for the upcoming campaign.

"My biggest takeaway from the book was being okay with adapting to things and to attack and adapt," Barkley explained, as shared by Chris Franklin of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "That’s how I want to focus on this whole camp. With everything I do, if I mess up or make a mistake, I’ll do it at full speed. I want to go out there, try to make plays, do it full speed, attack, and whatever happens, adapt and be ready. You have to trust your faith. There’s no need to have fear when you have faith."

Barkley dealt with numerous physical setbacks during his Giants tenure. He suffered a torn ACL in September 2020, and he more recently missed three games last season with an ankle injury.

While at least one unnamed NFL offensive coach mentioned in July that Barkley is "probably not as fast as he used to be," the Eagles seemingly are hoping the 27-year-old will thrive playing behind an offensive line that should be better than any Barkley had with the Giants. With that said, he's still adjusting to running behind new blockers and learning a system installed by offensive coordinator Kellen Moore after Moore joined the Eagles in February.

"That all comes with reps," Barkley noted. "I think I’m getting a really good feel for those guys up front right now and I think we’re running the ball pretty well. There are always things you can improve, but that comes with reps and practicing with each other and trusting each other."

Barkley was often the most talented offensive player on the Giants but could find himself having somewhat of a diminished role if a specific game plan calls for quarterback Jalen Hurts to routinely target weapons such as wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. The second overall pick of the 2018 draft, who has thus far played in only two career postseason games, seems just fine with losing touches if it results in Philadelphia earning a victory.

"When your goal is to go out there and win and compete for a championship, and that’s actually what you want to do, it doesn’t matter how you get it done," Barkley said. "I think we have those guys in this locker room who share that same mindset. When you all play at a high level, you want the accolades that come along with it, but the main thing is to win football games, and I think we have that mindset here."

As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Eagles third among the betting favorites at +600 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX. Barkley clearly cares more about achieving that goal than about accumulating stellar personal stats during his first season with his new club.