Saquon Barkley's Comeback Player of the Year Odds Got Me Thinking

For all the talk of his still-massive calves and ability to look explosive running in the sand this offseason, we still have yet to see Saquon Barkley play football since he tore his ACL in September 2020. The uncertainty of his ability to play Week 1 has led to many fading the former Offensive Rookie of the Year heading into the 2021 season. Count me among those going the other way.

Nearly a year after he tore his ACL, Barkley will take part in team drills next week during joint practice with the Patriots. It's a big step forward for Barkley and an important milestone in his recovery. It's also another reason why I'm buying low on him now before he's officially ruled healthy enough to play.

Currently, Barkley's odds to win Comeback Player of the Year on WynnBET are +650, tied with Christian McCaffrey for third best behind Dak Prescott and Joe Burrow. Those odds seem about right considering the inherent advantage quarterbacks have winning awards in the NFL and the fact that a running back hasn't won this award since 2004. But if ever there was a time for that streak to be broken, it would be this year with Barkley.

At this point, it's become fairly obvious that Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is a game manager at best. With their franchise mired in a five-year playoff drought, and both their GM and coach on the hot seat, as well as Jones playing for his future, the importance of winning has never been more critical to the most critical figures on the team. When the heat is on in these situations, the best thing to do is get the ball in your best player's hands, and that player for the Giants is Barkley.

Barkley averaged a little over 21 touches per game his first two seasons in the league and should be in line for a similar workload this year. If he stays healthy this season, that equates to about 350 touches total. Barkley averaged 119.6 total yards per game his first two seasons, which equates to just over 2,000 all-purpose yards this season -- again if he stays healthy. If Barkley gets to that number, he'll be in the thick of the conversation for Comeback Player of the Year.

Obviously a lot has to go right for all of that to happen. The Giants also have to win for him to be a top contender for the award -- the last three winners all led their teams to the playoffs, though they were all quarterbacks. But with Barkley only a year away from becoming a free agent, the Giants needing to win this year and the reality being that Barkley is their best chance to succeed on offense, I expect Barkley to get a lot of chances and for him to take advantage of them. So I'm going to throw a couple bucks on him to win Comeback Player of the Year now before the rush on him starts in Week 2.

Make your pick now on WynnBET.