The Philadelphia Eagles offense last year? It wasn’t pretty. Fresh off a Super Bowl win, the unit looked unrecognizable at times. Saquon Barkley dropped from 2,000 rushing yards in 2024 to just 1,140 last season, good for only 10th in the league. A.J. Brown got traded to New England. DeVonta Smith lost his running mate. Something had to give.
The Eagles know they can’t waste a back like Barkley again. So they went to work. They drafted wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round of the 2026 draft. They brought in Sean Mannion as offensive coordinator. And according to The Athletic’s Zach Berman, the plan is simple: run the damn ball.
“The Eagles felt there were yards left on the field last season, and I expect this to be a run-oriented offense,” Berman said. “The wide-zone blocking scheme and more under-center runs will be the most noticeable differences.”
That shift matters. The Eagles are at their best when they control the line of scrimmage and let Barkley do what he does. Mannion’s system has roots in the same offensive tree that produced top-10 rushers like Bijan Robinson, De’Von Achane, Christian McCaffrey, and Kyren Williams last season. Berman pointed out that Williams put up 1,252 yards on 259 carries in 2025. And he thinks that stat line could be Barkley’s floor in this new setup.
Floor. Not ceiling. Think about that.
Barkley is still only 29. He’s two years removed from winning Offensive Player of the Year. The Eagles didn’t bring in one of the most explosive backs in NFL history to hand him the ball 15 times a game. Mannion’s scheme is designed to maximize him. More under-center runs. More wide zone. More opportunities for Barkley to hit the second level before a linebacker even gets his hands on him.
There’s also the receiver room to consider. Losing Brown hurt, but Lemon adds a different dimension. The offense won’t be as top-heavy through the air, which might actually help the run game. Defenses can’t stack the box when you’ve got a first-round rookie stretching the field.
Nobody’s saying Barkley is guaranteed to hit 2,000 yards again. But Berman’s comparison to Williams isn’t crazy. That’s 1,250 yards and roughly 4.8 per carry. For a back of Barkley’s caliber in a run-first offense with a coordinator who knows how to use him? That feels less like wishful thinking and more like a realistic floor.
The Eagles open the 2026 season at home against the Giants. We’ll find out soon enough if this offense has its old teeth back.
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