A.J. Brown played with Derrick Henry. He thinks Saquon Barkley is the MVP — and ‘the best player in the world.’
The star running backs — currently the top two in the NFL in rushing yards this season — will face off on Sunday in Baltimore.
After Saquon Barkley’s big night against the Los Angeles Rams — a game that saw the running back rush for a career-high 255 yards and two touchdowns — mics caught Eagles receiver A.J. Brown giving Barkley a huge compliment on the sideline.
“You already the best running back in the world,” Brown told Barkley in a video caught by NFL Films. “I think you’re the best player in the world.”
With Barkley’s success in Philadelphia, there has been an increase in fans clamoring for Barkley to win NFL MVP — an opinion Brown agreed with even before Barkley’s monster performance on Sunday night.
Ahead of the Eagles’ 37-20 win at SoFi Stadium, Brown sat down with three-time Super Bowl champion Devin McCourty during the Sunday Night Football pregame show to talk about playing alongside the former Penn State running back. The full 15-minute version was also released on YouTube.
» READ MORE: Bill Belichick calls MVP candidate Saquon Barkley ‘a great complementary piece.’ No, that’s not a slight.
When asked if Barkley was a favorite for MVP, Brown said, “I think so. I think he’s the best in the world. And I love Derrick [Henry]. I love Derrick, you know what I’m saying. But I think he’s the best in the world, man.”
However, not that long ago, Brown thought differently. Before he was traded to Philadelphia in 2022, the veteran wideout played for the Tennessee Titans for three seasons alongside Henry. Having played with both running backs, Brown made it clear who he now thinks the better player is.
“I’ll tell you this,” Brown said. “I literally told Nick [Sirianni] probably a couple of weeks ago, and I said, ‘Right now, I still think Derrick is probably the best running back I’ve ever played with.’ And then [Barkley] jumps over somebody backwards, and I’m like, I had to rethink it, man. He’s incredible. He’s definitely touched by God, man. He works hard, you know. So I had to give him that nod, man.”
Barkley is currently in a tight race with Henry for the NFL’s rushing lead. Barkley’s 1,392 rushing yards is first in the NFL, with Henry’s 1,325 rushing yards in second. Barkley’s last performance — a 255-yard outburst to break the Eagles’ single-game rushing record set by LeSean McCoy — helped propel him to the top.
» READ MORE: Troy Aikman and Joe Buck mock the Giants over Saquon Barkley fiasco
On Sunday, the two star running backs will go head-to-head as the Eagles prepare to take on another MVP favorite Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on the road. And Brown is excited.
“Both are really good,” he continued. “I can’t wait … next week is going to be a show, you know. I just want to see it.”