Much like Kerryon Johnson, Saquon Barkley has always idolized Barry Sanders. What running back wouldn't?
And as part of the NFL's centennial celebration, Barkley got a chance to break down highlights with one of the best to ever do it. In a video produced by the league, Barkley and Sanders sat side by side and talked through some of their favorite runs.
"The NFL asked me for the 100th anniversary who I would like to sit down and watch film with. I had to pick you," Barkley told Sanders. "You're one of my favorite players, if not my favorite player. I want to learn from you, I want to see what you see and how you broke it down and what made you great."
They started with Sanders' classic run against the Patriots in 1994, when he twisted safety Harlon Barnett into a pretzel and took it 39 yards to the house. Upon seeing Sanders high-five his teammates after the touchdown, Barkley told him, "This is what I love best about you, by the way. Every time you score you celebrate with your teammates and you throw the ball to the ref. I try to do that. Sometimes I get out of my character a little bit and get a little excited."
"It's easy to get excited out there," Sanders said with a laugh.
They also broke down Sanders' iconic touchdown against the Cowboys in the 1991 playoffs. Barkley marveled at the way Sanders turned a small gain into a huge one.
"This run is ridiculous," he said.
As Sanders explained, he didn't expect to escape the crowd of tacklers that had him surrounded near midfield. And then he did.
"I'm thinking, you just get down, you get a few yards and you live to see the next play, and I bounce off the guy. I was just as surprised as everyone that I scored on that. You get those little gifts sometime," Sanders said.
He added, "At some point you have to have a will to say, 'Okay, I'm going to stay on my feet. It does help to just have that mentality of, 'No, I'm not going down on this play.'"
Later in their conversation, Sanders told Barkley that his dad "always had me rated as one of the top runners, not the top. Of course, he didn't have a chance to watch Saquon. I'm sure you'd be up there."
Barkley could only shake his head at that suggestion.
"Nah," he said. "Nowhere near close."
