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The numbers themselves were impressive enough.
Saquon Barkley continued his blitz on the NFL combine on Friday, recording a 4.4-flat 40-yard dash with a 1.54-second 10-yard split after posting a 41-inch vertical jump. That’s on top of the 29 reps at 225 pounds the Penn State running back put up on the bench press on Thursday.
NFL Research put all of it in perspective.
The league’s stat firm compared Barkley’s numbers to what current stars did during their own trips to the combine. The results?
Stronger than All-Pro offensive tackle Joe Thomas (28 reps). Faster than kick return legend Devin Hester (4.43 seconds). Quicker to accelerate than speedster DeSean Jackson (1.55 split). And better air than premier wideout Julio Jones (38.5 inches).
And he did it all at 6-foot, 233 pounds.
“You know what that is?” retired star receiver Steve Smith said on NFL Network’s broadcast. “That’s a create-a-player on Madden.”
NFL Research took it a step further. Since 2003, only two players above 230 pounds ran that fast and jumped that high at the combine — Barkley and long-time tight end Vernon Davis.
“And both players were trained by Penn State’s strength coach Dwight Galt,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin was quick to point out on Twitter. “The best strength coach in College Football!
Franklin himself was an offensive assistant at Maryland for Davis’ first two seasons with the Terps.
“The whole country wants to talk about Saquon,” Galt told reporters in State College earlier this week. “But anybody here that’s been watching … it’s kind of old hat for us. We’ve already seen it. We’re all really excited for him.”
Combine it all with the glowing reports from his face-to-face interviews with teams this week, and Barkley will be under consideration for the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft. Though many analysts consider him the best all-around player available, NFL teams don’t generally value running backs that highly — the last one to be selected first overall was Penn State’s Ki-Jana Carter in 1995.
The Cleveland Browns have the first and fourth picks. The New York Giants are at No. 2 and the Indianapolis Colts are third.
For his part, Barkley made his case in media interviews on Thursday.
“I feel whether I’m running the ball from the 99-yard line or the 1-yard line that I can find a way to get into the end zone,” Barkley said at the podium in Indianapolis. “I can do it all, I feel like. I can go over the top of you, I can beat you with speed, I can beat you with some wiggle, I could run through you.”
Barkley is one of eight Penn State players at the combine. Mike Gesicki began his workouts Friday with 22 reps on the bench press, ranking him second among all tight ends.
Also at the event are safety Marcus Allen, safety Troy Apke, linebacker Jason Cabinda, cornerback Christian Campbell, cornerback Grant Haley and wideout DaeSean Hamilton.