The Philadelphia Eagles struck gold when they landed superstar running back Saquon Barkley, whose 2024 season was nothing short of historic. Barkley etched his name in the NFL record books as the first running back to amass over 2,500 total rushing yards, including the playoffs, powering the Eagles to a championship. His explosive runs and relentless drive made him a fan favorite and a fantasy football juggernaut. But as the 2025 season looms, whispers of doom surround the dynamic back, with Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport sounding the alarm: Barkley’s days of dominance may already be numbered.
Davenport, a respected voice in fantasy football analysis, points to Barkley’s sky-high Average Draft Position (ADP) as the RB1 in 2025 fantasy drafts. “Saquon Barkley had a fantastic 2024 season,” Davenport acknowledges. “He played a massive role in the Eagles’ march to a championship, becoming only the ninth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season.” Yet, despite this brilliance, Davenport warns that Barkley is “doomed” for a catastrophic fall in 2025, and the numbers back up his grim prediction.
The primary culprit? The dreaded “Curse of 370.” Barkley’s jaw-dropping 378 touches in 2024 place him squarely in the danger zone. Since 2007, 25 running backs have crossed the 370-touch threshold in a single season, and the results are sobering. Only two—less than 10 percent—managed to increase their total yardage the following year. An equal number saw a rise in PPR (points per reception) fantasy points. Even more alarming, over the past decade, running backs in this group have seen their fantasy production plummet by an average of 49 percent the year after such a heavy workload. For Barkley, who carried the Eagles’ offense on his back, this historical trend spells trouble.
The Curse of 370 isn’t just a statistical anomaly; it’s a physical reality. Running backs, even ones as supremely talented as Barkley, face immense wear and tear. The grind of 378 touches—combined with the NFL’s grueling schedule—takes a toll that few can withstand. Defenders are bigger, faster, and hit harder than ever, and Barkley’s body may not recover from the punishment it endured in 2024. As teams scheme to neutralize his game-breaking speed, his efficiency could take a hit, further dimming his fantasy outlook.
But it’s not just fantasy owners who should be worried. The Eagles, fresh off their championship run, are banking on Barkley to lead their quest for a repeat in 2025. His ability to break tackles, explode through gaps, and turn short passes into big gains is central to Philadelphia’s offensive identity. Yet, if history holds, Barkley’s production could nosedive, leaving the Eagles scrambling to fill the void. While his star power will keep him on the field, a dip in performance could shake the team’s confidence and alter their game plan.
Barkley’s 2024 heroics set an impossibly high bar, and living up to that hype may be a losing battle. The Curse of 370 looms large, threatening to turn his dream season into a nightmare. For fantasy players, drafting Barkley as the RB1 comes with unprecedented risk. For Eagles fans, the hope of a repeat championship rests on a running back who may be running on fumes. One thing is certain: Saquon Barkley’s 2025 season will be a defining moment—for better or for worse.