The fantasy appeal of Saquon Barkley comes from not only his running ability (3,843 yards and 43 TDs in three college seasons, and a 4.40 at the combine) but also his receiving potential. Arguably he offers the best combination of the two from a college running back we've seen in a number of years. Especially as a receiver, he really stands out.
Since 2000, there have been 44 running backs selected with first-round picks. None of those backs had as many receiving yards in their final seasons of college as Barkley did at Penn State last year. None was within 10 receptions of him, either.
Final year of college numbers from those running backs, as well as this year's likely first-round running backs (Barkley and Louisiana State's Derrius Guice), are shown below.
FINAL YEAR OF COLLEGE, 1ST-ROUND RBS, 2000-PRESENT | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Pk | Player | Run | No | Rec | Tot | TD |
2018 | ? | Saquon Barkley, ? | 1271 | 54 | 632 | 1903 | 21 |
2008 | 24 | Chris Johnson, Tenn. | 1423 | 37 | 528 | 1951 | 23 |
2010 | 9 | C.J. Spiller, Buff. | 1212 | 36 | 503 | 1715 | 16 |
2006 | 2 | Reggie Bush, N.O. | 1740 | 37 | 478 | 2218 | 18 |
2004 | 24 | Steven Jackson, St.L. | 1545 | 44 | 470 | 2015 | 22 |
2009 | 12 | Knowshon Moreno, Den. | 1400 | 33 | 392 | 1792 | 18 |
2004 | 26 | Chris Perry, Cin. | 1674 | 44 | 367 | 2041 | 20 |
2003 | 23 | Willis McGahee, Buff. | 1753 | 27 | 355 | 2108 | 28 |
2003 | 27 | Larry Johnson, K.C. | 2087 | 41 | 349 | 2436 | 23 |
2012 | 3 | Trent Richardson, Clev. | 1679 | 29 | 338 | 2017 | 24 |
2007 | 12 | Marshawn Lynch, Buff. | 1356 | 34 | 328 | 1684 | 15 |
2000 | 19 | Shaun Alexander, Sea. | 1383 | 25 | 323 | 1706 | 23 |
2008 | 23 | Rashard Mendenhall, Pitt. | 1681 | 34 | 318 | 1999 | 19 |
2005 | 2 | Ronnie Brown, Mia. | 913 | 34 | 313 | 1226 | 9 |
2017 | 8 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 1603 | 37 | 310 | 1913 | 16 |
2011 | 28 | Mark Ingram, N.O. | 875 | 21 | 282 | 1157 | 14 |
2002 | 16 | William Green, Clev. | 1559 | 23 | 260 | 1819 | 17 |
2012 | 31 | Doug Martin, T.B. | 1299 | 28 | 255 | 1554 | 18 |
2000 | 31 | Trung Canidate, St.L. | 1602 | 30 | 253 | 1855 | 12 |
2000 | 7 | Thomas Jones, Ariz. | 1798 | 22 | 239 | 2037 | 17 |
2010 | 30 | Jahvid Best, Det. | 867 | 22 | 213 | 1080 | 16 |
2016 | 4 | Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 1821 | 27 | 206 | 2027 | 23 |
2000 | 5 | Jamal Lewis, Balt. | 817 | 15 | 193 | 1010 | 8 |
2001 | 23 | Deuce McAllister, N.O. | 767 | 18 | 190 | 957 | 16 |
2006 | 30 | Joseph Addai, Ind. | 911 | 20 | 180 | 1091 | 10 |
2005 | 4 | Cedric Benson, Chi. | 1834 | 22 | 179 | 2013 | 20 |
2008 | 22 | Felix Jones, Dall. | 1162 | 16 | 176 | 1338 | 11 |
2006 | 21 | Laurence Maroney, N.E. | 1464 | 17 | 170 | 1634 | 11 |
2008 | 4 | Darren McFadden, Oak. | 1830 | 21 | 164 | 1994 | 17 |
2004 | 30 | Kevin Jones, Det. | 1647 | 14 | 161 | 1808 | 21 |
2015 | 15 | Melvin Gordon, S.D. | 2587 | 19 | 153 | 2740 | 32 |
2005 | 5 | Cadillac Williams, T.B. | 1165 | 21 | 152 | 1317 | 13 |
2017 | 4 | Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 843 | 15 | 146 | 989 | 8 |
2008 | 13 | Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 1722 | 22 | 145 | 1867 | 13 |
2007 | 7 | Adrian Peterson, Minn. | 1012 | 10 | 136 | 1148 | 13 |
2012 | 32 | David Wilson, NYG | 1709 | 22 | 129 | 1838 | 10 |
2009 | 27 | Donald Brown, Ind. | 2083 | 21 | 125 | 2208 | 18 |
2018 | ? | Derrius Guice, ? | 1251 | 18 | 124 | 1375 | 13 |
2010 | 12 | Ryan Mathews, S.D. | 1808 | 11 | 122 | 1930 | 19 |
2002 | 18 | T.J. Duckett, Atl. | 1236 | 12 | 80 | 1316 | 11 |
2006 | 27 | DeAngelo Williams, Car. | 1964 | 12 | 78 | 2042 | 19 |
2015 | 10 | Todd Gurley, St.L. | 911 | 12 | 57 | 968 | 9 |
2009 | 31 | Beanie Wells, Ariz. | 1197 | 8 | 47 | 1244 | 8 |
2001 | 5 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 2158 | 10 | 40 | 2198 | 22 |
2001 | 27 | Michael Bennett, Minn. | 1598 | 4 | 23 | 1621 | 10 |
2000 | 11 | Ron Dayne, NYG | 1834 | 1 | 9 | 1843 | 19 |
Interesting to note that a couple of guys near the bottom of this list, Todd Gurley and LaDainian Tomlinson, turned out to be pretty awesome receivers. And not all the guys near the top turned out great. But a few fantasy superstars (Chris Johnson, Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson) in the mix.
--Andy Richardson