NGT: Austin Ekeler gets slight pay bump to about 8 million

It makes no sense for him to sign a deal that pays him less than the $22 million he'd get playing under franchise tags this year and next, and it makes no sense for Schoen to offer him a deal for more than that, given how the RB market has cratered.

In comment 16121958 JonC said:

Quote:

Being a more efficient runner, eg making the right reads on blocks, picking the right hole, breaking tackles, being decisive, catching passes, etc are all things SB could improve on. I see SB leaving too many yards and plays on the field, and you can see he knows it when he is demonstrative with himself. SB is a still a young dude, and is getting better with reps. Stay healthy, keep working hard, let's see where he goes.

That's my take on #26 as well. I know I am in the minority but I will keep saying it--the best is yet to come for Barkley. 2022 was a start. It was not his peak. That is why he's annoyed about the contract. I think he truly believes he's got an MVP (RBs never win this I know) caliber season in him.

In comment 16121958 JonC said:

Quote:

Being a more efficient runner, eg making the right reads on blocks, picking the right hole, breaking tackles, being decisive, catching passes, etc are all things SB could improve on. I see SB leaving too many yards and plays on the field, and you can see he knows it when he is demonstrative with himself. SB is a still a young dude, and is getting better with reps. Stay healthy, keep working hard, let's see where he goes.

I agree with everything here.

Barkley is simply just not a very productive receiver. If he were he'd justify more targets and produce more.

His 2018 he was targeted 120 times, which produced only 720 yards. You can't have close to 30% of your pass attempts generate so few yards.

What Barkley is a no-doubt, best-in-class runner. And when he's just hitting the hole and hitting the gas he has the upside to be an all timer.

The only question is how many top seasons he has left. I'd wager 2.

you either care about big play ability or you don’t. IMO if you switch the two players situations Barkleys aggregate stats would look more impressive while Ekelers take a huge hit. The guy played behind a bad OL, with bad WRs, and minimal QB production for most of his career. I’m factoring that in, heavily.

As for Barkley not getting more targets in 2022 that was by design because of personnel not ability. If we didn’t have the threat of the run our offense was going nowhere - it was our only advantage. And despite that, and facing a lot of stacked boxes, Barkley had a major impact. I don’t think Ekeler is that type of player.

don't know how that can be argued

If you grade players on a curve, then Barkley's durability certainly factors heavily.

I don't have a problem with an evaluation that says: if Barkley is healthy, and if all other variables were exactly the same, Barkley would be the better choice to run the football.

Barkley has played in 3 systems and has never been a very big weapon in the pass game. With better talent around him, he likely sees fewer targets, and similar carries.

but neither has been a model of health. Barkley had the big injury and Ekeler has had a bunch of smaller, but impactful ones. He missed 4 games in 2018, 7 games in 2020. He was good in 2021 and 2022 but he’s no iron man.

What matters is moving forward and both players seem like the same injury risk to me. If both were UFA I suspect Barkley would be seeing a good deal more guaranteed money. In fact, I think both Barkley and Jacobs would.

In comment 16121950 djm said:

Quote:

In comment 16121906 ThomasG said: Quote: In comment 16121896 djm said: Quote: I have literally watched just about every game or nearly every game of his career. He's one of the most underrated players in the game. And with that said, if you think Ekeler is "clearly the better all around back" over Barkley you are delusional. IF you think the Giants would be a better team by trading #26 for #30 you're delusional. Both players can be terrific. Don't need to disparage one to pump up the other. Suggesting Ekeler might be the better all-around back makes you delusional? Or is it just the "clearly" distinguishment that does that? It was from an earlier post that said " Is Eckeler the better all around RB? Clearly yes, IMO." Clearly? no.

I love getting name-called for expressing my opinion.

Ekeler had the same yards per carry as Saquon, 50 more receptions and 8 more TDs. I don't think it's "delusional" to think that makes him a better all around back (i.e. running and receiving).

every NFL RB the past 2 years and despite that I wouldn’t call him a top 5 RB simply because he doesn’t run the ball anywhere close to the elite players. He’s also 2 years older than Barkley so for anyone who thinks Barkley is about to hit the decline, I hope you apply that same logic to Ekeler.

In comment 16121749 leatherneck570 said:

Quote:

he was also actively trying to get traded for a better pay day and couldn’t find any takers.

Were the Chargers even accepting trade offers? Any team willing to pay Ekeler the big bucks, would've had to cough up a 1st round pick plus more.
p.s.--Anyone who plays fantasy football knows how good Ekeler is.

I think what Saquon will make on the tag-provided he signs it-is fair market value for a RB on his talent.

In comment 16122145 Milton said:

Quote:

In comment 16121749 leatherneck570 said: Quote: he was also actively trying to get traded for a better pay day and couldn’t find any takers. Were the Chargers even accepting trade offers? Any team willing to pay Ekeler the big bucks, would've had to cough up a 1st round pick plus more. p.s.--Anyone who plays fantasy football knows how good Ekeler is.

They granted him permission to speak to other teams.

Deal didn’t include a 1st, I doubt Ekeler’s deal would need one.