Saquon Barkley ranks last year’s Eagles among the best teams ever, discusses origins of Saquads on ‘Exciting Mics’

Is it possible for the Exciting Mics podcast to get even more … exciting? The answer is apparently yes. In their second episode, Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship were joined by “the only other player in the NFL to win a Super Bowl on his birthday,” Saquon Barkley.

The three-time Pro Bowler and reigning offensive player of the year had a lot to talk about on his Exciting Mics debut — discussing the Tush Push, the origins of his Saquads nickname, and making a bold claim about where last year’s Eagles team ranks on his all-time list.

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The Eagles captured their second Lombardi Trophy in eight seasons with their dominant 40-22 win over the two-time defending champions Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. It was the perfect storybook ending to a season that saw Barkley become the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. But to Barkley, the team still doesn’t get the credit they deserve.

“I really think that when we look back on that in 10-15 years and we’re all old, reflecting on our glory days,” Barkley said. “The year that we had last year, people don’t give us enough credit.”

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Barkley believes last year’s Eagles team is one of the greatest ever — standing alongside the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the 1985 Chicago Bears.

“I firmly believe when you look at our team that we had last year — and I know we’re not looking too far into the past, but our team last year — I think we’re a top-five team of all time,” Barkley said. “We started off 2-2 and we lost to Washington, Jalen [Hurts] got hurt that game. But if you really look at this season, outside the first four games, it was belt to [expletive]. From how dominant you guys were on defense and how dominant we were on offense and special teams. People don’t realize how great of a team that actually was.

“When you have the talent and the skill that we have on our team mixed with the coaches, and we all play together like how we played, teams really stood no chance. And you saw that in the playoffs and you saw that in the Super Bowl. I mean the score finish was 40 to 20-something, but in reality it wasn’t really a game.”

When discussing who would take the last spot on his all-time top-five list, Barkley said the Chiefs dynasty or the Patriots dynasty were interchangeable.

Before there was 2KSa, there was Saquads, a nickname the running back earned during his rookie year in the league. Although his quads were still strikingly noticeable at Penn State, they received real attention when he was drafted by the New York Giants.

“When I first came into the league everyone was like, ‘Saquads,’” Barkley said. “It really happened because I had skinny jeans on — and this is when skinny jeans were in — and the jeans were probably a little too tight. And Odell [Beckham Jr.] being Odell made a joke and kind of called me Saquads and tweeted it and everyone started calling me it.”

» READ MORE: Attempt to ban the Tush Push was a ‘crock,’ says Eagles fan with ‘TSHPUSH’ license plate

This nickname even ended up leading to an iced-out “quads” chain gifted to him by then-Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“Me and Baker actually had a bet because we’re pretty good boys,” Barkley said. “Who was going to win offensive rookie of the year? We had to have a chain made for each other. I got it. It says ‘quads’. Bustdown ‘quads.’”

Despite the legend, Barkley no longer has the biggest quads on the team. That’s a title that now belongs to “quadfather” AJ Dillon.

“AJ Dillon has bigger quads than me, we did a measurement contest,” Barkley said.

Sitting beside a former Iowa player in DeJean, Barkley wore a Penn State hoodie and reminisced about his time playing at one of his favorite stadiums, Kinnick Stadium.

“I got paid because of Iowa, I ain’t going to lie,” Barkley said. “If you go watch my film against Iowa, breaking tackles — it was probably the reason I got drafted high — jumping over dudes. We almost lost that game though.”

In Penn State’s 21-19 win over Iowa during his junior season, Barkley pulled off his original reverse hurdle and finished the night with 211 rushing yards, 94 receiving yards, and a touchdown. DeJean remembered watching Barkley’s 2017 performance in high school.

“He went crazy,” DeJean said.

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The Tush Push will live on to see another season. But before the announcement, players were giving their thoughts on the potential ban — including Jason Kelce and Barkley.

“The banning thing of it, I think it’s soft to be honest,” Barkley said. “Everybody can do it. It’s not a play we only can do. Everybody can do it. We happen to have one of the best and biggest O-lines and Jalen Hurts can squat 600 pounds. That’s not our fault.

“Josh Allen is super big, they’re not successful at it. Lamar Jackson is one of the best running quarterbacks of all time, they’re not successful at it. It’s not something everyone can’t do. So, them trying to eliminate it, I think it’s kind of lame.”