Don't Trust Saquon Barkley's Rushing Yards Prop Number Just Yet

New York Giants fans are holding out hope that star running back Saquon Barkley will be ready to return in Week 1 of the 2021 season, but Barkley himself isn’t making any guarantees. 

Appearing on the Rich Eisen Show, Barkley declined to give a timetable for his return. The running back tore his ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 season, but for a player that relies on his legs for a living, he clearly doesn’t want to rush himself back.

“Trying to get 1 percent better every single day,” Barkley said. He then dodged Eisen’s question about him ending up on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list this season. 

“I think I know better than that,” Barkley said. “I’ve been in the NFL for a little bit now. I think I learned a thing or two.”

WynnBET has Barkley with the sixth-best odds to lead the NFL in rushing this season at +1500, but it’s hard to trust him if he’s potentially going to miss the start of the year. 

Getting Barkley at that price would usually be great value for bettors, I am taking a wait-and-see approach with the fourth-year runner. 

Barkley struggled before getting hurt last season, averaging just 1.8 yards per carry through his first 19 touches. The Giants need to prove they can block for Barkley before he can truly be in the conversation to lead the NFL in rushing. 

WynnBET currently has the Giants with the third-best odds to win the division at +300. New York almost made the playoffs in 2020 as a result of the NFC East being terrible, and oddsmakers anticipate they will improve slightly with an exact win projection of eight games (+300) in 2021.

If Barkley plays the majority of the season, the Giants could make some noise in a weak division. However, if he’s unable to debut for a few weeks, the Giants’ offense may struggle to stay afloat as it did in 2020.

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