Saquon Barkley Reveals He Spoke to Todd Gurley for Advice amid Changes to Eagles Offense

The Philadelphia Eagles are transitioning to a new scheme and philosophy under first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, and that will include running under center far more than they did a season ago.

On Wednesday, superstar running back Saquon Barkley spoke to reporters about making those adjustments and said he reached out to former NFL running back Todd Gurley to pick his brain about playing in this type of scheme:

Barkley, 29, was fantastic in his first season with the Birds, rushing 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding 33 catches for 278 yards and another two scores. The Birds went on to win the Super Bowl, with Barkley a key factor.

But that resulted in offensive coordinator Kellen Moore being hired as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, and Nick Sirianni went with an in-house promotion to replace him, appointing Kevin Patullo.

That proved to be disastrous, as Philly's offense became predictable and ineffective. It didn't help that the run game never quite got going, with Barkley finishing with 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns while adding 37 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns.

The Eagles did make an effort to lessen his workload, as he went from 345 carries in 2024 to 280 last season. But injuries to the offensive line contributed to far less push at the line of scrimmage—the Tush Push went from being unstoppable in 2024 to occasionally effective in 2025—and Barkley seemed to be pressing at times, doing too much in an effort to create big plays. It didn't help that he was often having to evade defenders before he even reached the line of scrimmage.

The hope under Mannion is that an increase in pre-snap motion, play action and under-center run plays will make the offense less predictable and the run game more effective. The Eagles are far more effective when they establish the ground attack.

Barkley has seemingly been doing his part to make the transition smoother. If he returns to 2024 levels, the Eagles will be a problem this season.