EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Saquon Barkley has already had a memorable week after becoming the Giants' Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee for the second straight year.
The Giants' sixth-year running back can also reach several statistical milestones when the Giants host the Green Bay Packers Monday night.
Barkley has 4,946 career rushing yards and needs 54 to become the fifth player to reach 5,000 in a Giants uniform. Brandon Jacobs is fourth on the franchise's career list with 5,087 yards, and Joe Morris is third with 5,296.
Barkley has 1,988 receiving yards and can become the fourth Giants player with 5,000 rushing yards and 2,000 receiving yards, joining Tiki Barber, Alex Webster and Hall of Famer Frank Gifford.
Finally, Barkley is on track to be the ninth player in Giants history with 7,000 total yards. He enters the game with 6,924. Ahmad Bradshaw is directly ahead of him with 7,168.
"It would mean a lot," Barkley said of the prospect of moving up on those statistical lists. "It would be special because the goal I set; I said I want to be on top of everything by the time it's all said and done, by the time I hang my cleats up. And me accomplishing those things, hopefully in the next couple of weeks, will just be another steppingstone to that goal that I want to achieve, and I'll be able to put my name with some really good backs that have been here. And there are a lot of great backs.
"That's something I've wanrd to do since I got drafted (in 2018). I wish it was a little easier. I think I could accomplished some of that a little earlier if I didn't have to battle all the injuries, but I wouldn't take anything back. Everything happened for a reason."
Many players claim ignorance when presented with their career numbers. But Barkley has a general idea where he ranks, not because he is obsessed with his stats, but because he is mindful and respectful of Giants history. He wants to be recognized as one of the best players in franchise history. And individually, players who handle the ball leave their mark statistically.
"I feel like you got to know your history," Barkley said. "The first thing I ever did when I came here – I've always been like this – (was) look up numbers and see what Tiki, see Rodney (Hampton), see what Ottis (Anderson) did. It's funny because the three names, I just looked up and saw (in the list of Giants greats painted in the locker room) were those three. You see what they were able to accomplish.
"I want my name to be up here one day. I want to be on that wall when we go into the running back room and be able to come back and I see Eli (Manning), (Michael) Strahan and all those guys come back and when I come back with (daughter) Jada or (son) S.J. (Saquon, Jr.) and any future guys I have, they see their dad's name or they see their dad's picture. I feel like that's cool. Something like that goes a long way to me. So, yeah, those things I want to accomplish."
Another statistical goal Barkley would like to reach is 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the fourth time in his career. He ran for a career-high 1,312 yards in 2022.
Barkley, who missed three early-season games with a sprained ankle, has rushed for 697 yards this season. That places him 13th in the NFL. Barkley must average 60.6 yards in the Giants' final five games to reach 1,000.
"Any time you can rush for 1,000 yards in the NFL (it means something)," Barkley said. "…if I get 1,000 this year, I'd be (fourth) on the list all-time. I can't even sit here and lie to you and say that wouldn't be a cool thing. That'd definitely be a cool thing, so pretty much played five years, technically, I guess six but five years and average 1,000 yards a year is not a bad start to the first half or whatever of your career."
Barkley is particularly gratified to twin 5,000 rushing yards with 2,000 receiving yards because it demonstrates his versatility. And Barber, Webster and Giford are the only other Giants to do it.
"I think they did a little bit more after they got 5,000 and 2,000," Barkley said. "Things that I pride myself on and stuff I want to accomplish, and it would be great to be able to have my name be a part of those guys. Hopefully, everything continues to go great, stay healthy and be able to finish my career here as a Giant. I'll be able to be on top of all the numbers with those guys and that'd be something cool."
As is his nomination for the NFL's most prestigious honor, the Man of the Year Award, which recognizes a player's community and philanthropic endeavors, as well as his work on the field. No Giants player has been a solo winner of the award in its 53-year history. In 2016, Manning shared the award with Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
"It's an honor," Barkley said. "One of 32 men in the NFL get nominated for that award, it's truly a blessing. Being a running back, being a fan of the history of the game, learning about (Hall of Fame running back) Walter Payton, knowing his legacy on the field and off the field and getting to spend time with some of the Payton family because I was nominated. Like I said, it's truly an honor and it's a good thing. It's a good thing to be – you want to win that award but it's a hard award to win because it's 31 other guys doing just as good as you are doing. When you've got 32 guys, and even more, doing spectacular things in the community, it's not a bad thing."
Barkley contributes to a long list of causes and organizations. One that is particularly meaningful to him is Covenant House New Jersey, which assists young people (ages 18-21) who are facing homelessness and human trafficking by offering immediate shelter and longer-term services to help them transition to independence.
Barkley has helped raise $7 million in critical funds for Covenant House in the last five years. He is the celebrity chairman of Covenant House New Jersey's "Sleep Out: Executive Edition" overnight fundraiser. Prior to his involvement, the annual event raised $750,000 but now raises $1.6 million.
"I would say, especially with the homelessness, I can kind of relate to that a little bit more," Barkley said. "Battling that when I was a child. My parents did a really good job of making sure that I never even noticed it when I was a kid. But growing up and just hearing the stories, especially what my father's been through, living in abandoned houses and jumping around here and there, I had a little stint in my life for a year or two when we were homeless but at the time, we didn't feel it.
"I can relate to them a little bit more and just trying to find any way we can give back and make a change and that's when we started working with Children of Promise and then going back home in the valley and up here. The same thing we can do is kind of what my foundation stands for, any little thing we can do to give back and make an impact on our community. It's something that I've wanted to do ever since I got drafted into the NFL and it's a goal of mine and I look forward to continuing."
View photos of Giants running back Saquon Barkley's time with the New York Giants.
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