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WATCH: Saquon Barkley hits Cowboys with a killer spin move
By Andrew Kulha
Published:
Former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley was the second overall pick in this past NFL Draft for a reason.
The New York Giants took him to be a franchise-defining player for the next decade of football, passing up multiple quarterbacks (including Sam Darnold, who ended up with the Jets) to do so.
Whether or not that was a smart long-term move by the Giants is yet to be determined, and the answer to that question won’t come for a few years, but in the short-term here and now Barkley has sure lived up to the hype.
Yes, the Giants’ offense can’t get anything done with Eli Manning anymore — thus putting into question New York taking a running back over multiple talented quarterbacks — but that likely doesn’t enter the mind of a single Giants fan when they see Barkley do something like this:
The Giants may be down, but this man @saquon still making plays 😱
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/6fTlUN5D8c
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 17, 2018
The football skill, agility, and athleticism possessed by Barkley are all shown in this one highlight. Not only does he easily make one diving tackler look silly, but he accomplished a beautiful spin move on the sideline, making another would-be tackler miss.
Keep this in mind: Barkley spun towards the sideline.
He had minimal room to work with and a spin-move at that location is usually done towards the inside. Not for Barkley, though, who could accomplish that spin in a phone-booth and still find a way to come away with positive yardage.
Barkley is special. There’s a reason he ran for 3,843 yards with 43 rushing touchdowns and caught 1,195 receiving yards for eight touchdown receptions in three seasons at Penn State.
He’s one of a kind.
Andrew covers the B1G on Saturday Tradition.