Eagles' Saquon Barkley Admits He's in a 'Funk,' Should You Bench Him In Fantasy?

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is confident his production will begin to turn around amid a disappointing stretch.

"I'm a big believer that the run game starts with me and ends with me," he said, per The Athletic's Zach Berman. "I'm in a little funk right now. I've had funks before. Just got to break it. Only way I know how is by flushing this, working my butt off, and get ready for the next opportunity."

Barkley was never going to match his historic 2024 season, when he joined the illustrious 2,000-yard club. The regression is much more extreme than anybody expected, though.

The three-time Pro Bowler is averaging half as many rushing yards per game (62.2) as he did last year. His yards per carry have also fallen from 5.8 to 3.7.

Head coach Nick Sirianni may have a dilemma in the shape of backup running back Tank Bigsby as well. Bigsby went for 104 yards on nine carries in the Week 8 win over the New York Giants, and he ran the ball four times for 34 yards in a Week 11 loss to the Detroit Lions.

▶️ Full Giants-Eagles Recap

06:00

"Obviously, we always want to get Saquon the ball as much as we possibly can because we know what type of playmaker he is," Sirianni said, per Berman. "But Tank's doing a really nice job when he comes in and gives him a break. But make no mistake about it, we want to get Saquon the ball as much as we can because we know good things happen."

Fantasy football managers are always in a tough spot when an elite star is consistently failing to deliver.

Based solely on his recent output, benching Barkley wouldn't be an outlandish reaction, but his reputation precedes him. He's pretty much a must-start every week because you never know when he might round back into form.

Considering the Chicago Bears are allowing 138.1 yards per game on the ground and 5.2 yards per carry, that might happen Friday night.