Former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley went on a tear in 2024, leading an extension with the Philadelphia Eagles that makes him the highest-paid NFL running back in history. He set a new single-season record (including the playoffs) for most rushing yards with 2,054 on the way to leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory.
Everything about Barkley seemed superhuman last season, but when he sat down with Sean Evans on the show "Hot Ones," Barkley proved he is, indeed, human.
One of the ways they proved he is human is with the increasingly spicy hot wings Barkley ate as Evans asked him questions. Two kinds of wings in particular had Barkley needing reprieve: "Da Bomb" wings, Scoville level of 136,000, and "The Last Dab Xperience" wings that have a Scoville level of 2,693,000.
The second thing they found that can stop Barkley is one he revealed during the interview. He recalled his "Welcome to the NFL" moment in 2018, when he engaged with Hall of Fame linebacker Julius Peppers.
Peppers was in his final season with the Carolina Panthers, Year 17, and he had Barkley by the shoulder pads after a play. Barkley had earned the nickname "SaQuads" for his squatting ability, but the rookie could not break free of Peppers' grasp.
"That's when I realized that there's a difference between, like, grown men strength and, like, being strong in the weight room," he said, via FOX Sports.
"Yeah, that was probably, like, my most humbling moment of my life. Not just on the football field, but as a man, too. Because in that moment, I definitely needed help. I'm strong, but he's like, super strong."
Every rookie in the NFL has a moment like this. They've spent their entire lives being told they're the best at what they do, that they're going to go far in football, and that no one can take them down. But when they get to the NFL, they join a league of grown men who were raised the same way.
Rookies become the low men on the totem pole, and every single one of them has a moment that humbles them and brings them back to the ground.
For Saquon Barkley, that moment came at the hands of Julius Peppers.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Ex-Giants RB Saquon Barkley recalls his 'Welcome to the NFL' moment
