A collection of NFL scouts, coaches and executives were recently surveyed by ESPN, and Saquon Barkley emerged as the No. 1 running back in football entering the 2025 season.
That’s hardly breaking news, as Barkley put together arguably the greatest regular- and post-season run in NFL history, helping the Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LIX for the franchise’s second championship in eight years.
Barkley’s ability to make game-changing plays for the Eagles’ offense isn’t in question with training camp just around the corner. The question is how coach Nick Sirianni and newly appointed offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo plan to stay a step ahead of the competition, continuing what at times was an unstoppable ground attack during the team’s magical 2024 season.
The answer could be a subtle “new wrinkle” on offense, as analyst Josh Davis of The Philly Special Show recently put it, that debuted with a short sample size last season. The results? An average of over 6 yards per carry on 22 plays.
We’re talking about Ben VanSumeren, Philly’s former undrafted linebacker who’s spent the past year converting to fullback.
“You could just see from BVS’s snaps that the former running back flashed a natural ability as a lead blocker, helping one of the game’s best offensive lines open up even more space for Barkley,” Davis said. “So when you consider the Baltimore Ravens ended up averaging the most rushing yards per game last season, and used fullback Patrick Ricard on 495 snaps… it’s as if Philly is sitting on a hidden gem that not a lot of people know about.”
VanSumeren will be an important player to watch during Eagles training camp this summer. In 2024, the 25-year-old played 213 snaps on special teams and 22 snaps on offense as a fullback before going down with a season-ending knee injury suffered during a late-November practice. He was back healthy for OTAs, and enters camp working primarily with Philly’s offensive skill position players.
Now, is VanSumeren poised to approach the 500 offensive snaps that Ricard did for Derrick Henry and the Ravens last season? Definitely not. But the former Michigan State product earned himself an extended look working with Philly’s offense last season, he’s a strong bet to not only make the initial 53-man roster, but to log 100-plus snaps as Barkley’s lead blocker in 2025.
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