How two framed Saquon Barkley photos ended up near the Eagles offensive linemen’s lockers

Landon Dickerson left a recent weightlifting session early to take care of some new decorations inside the locker room at the Eagles’ NovaCare Complex.

In the area near the locker stalls of the starting offensive linemen, two photos of Saquon Barkley now adorn the wall. The pictures are framed and labeled neatly. One of them is from the team’s Nov. 14 win over Washington, when Barkley scored two touchdowns and rushed for 146 yards. The other is from the next game, Barkley’s franchise record-breaking, 255-yard performance in Los Angeles.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Saquon Barkley named NFC Offensive Player of the Month

The tape and type under those photos aren’t quite as neat. Under the photo from the Washington game, the words “THE CHOSEN ONE” are written on a piece of white tape. Under the other: “OUR SAVIOR.”

About two months after a group of leaders along the offensive line — Lane Johnson, Dickerson, and Jordan Mailata — wenttheirEagles to Nick Sirianni to implore the coach to help the team get back to its running ways, Barkley and his blockers are on the verge of making Eagles history. Barkley needs just 109 yards — he averages nearly 125 — against a porous Carolina Panthers run defense Sunday at the Linc to pass LeSean McCoy’s single-season rushing record.

Including Sunday, Barkley has five games to accumulate 607 yards to pass Eric Dickerson’s all-time single-season record (2,105), though that record was when the league’s regular season was 16 games, not 17.

“We’re lucky, and I don’t take it for granted,” Mailata said. “I will block my ass off so we can [expletive] break that record.”

Mailata talked with a few reporters about his rising profile in the league and the possibility of becoming an All-Pro earlier in the conversation. He doesn’t seem to care about that status as much as he cares about winning, but he was asked if he would trade being an All-Pro for Barkley breaking the rushing record.

“Yes, I will trade that in every day,” he said. “Breaking that record means more to me than an All-Pro, Pro Bowl. I want that for him. Because it means that we’re a part of history.

“Because you all know he wasn’t getting that by himself,” he said with a laugh.

He was joking, but it is true, and Barkley has routinely praised the big men in front of him for making his job easier. For all the memes and jokes about the Giants letting one of the best running backs of this generation walk in free agency, the reality is these numbers probably wouldn’t have been possible if Barkley stayed in New York.

» READ MORE: He used to be their babysitter. Now, Saquon Barkley is on pace to break the NFL’s single-season rushing record.

Mailata explained the way Barkley’s ability sticks out on film.

“We’ve always had good backs,” he said. “Sometimes their vision is just not the same.”

There were times on film, before Barkley was here, that offensive linemen would see a hole that a running back failed to see or couldn’t plunge through the same way Barkley does.

“This is no shade to any back that I’ve blocked for, but … Saquon sees what we see,” Mailata said. “Saquon is explosive. He knows if the first crease isn’t there, he’s going to keep finding opportunities. Our job as an O-line is to create as many holes as possible, so it’s just not the first read.”

On some plays, Mailata said, there is only one read.

“That’s the beauty of having a dynamic back like Saquon,” he said. “We’re not going to perfectly block it every time. The good thing about that is he can make his own universal plays.”

Those, Eagles fans have noticed, don’t take a deep film study to see.

» READ MORE: Brandon Graham is the Eagles’ 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, his second nod in three years

While Britain Covey (neck) returned to practice Thursday in a limited capacity, the three other nonparticipants from Wednesday’s session remained out. Safety Reed Blankenship (concussion), defensive back Sydney Brown (knee), and tight end Dallas Goedert (knee) did not practice.

Wide receiver Johnny Wilson (hamstring) was limited for the second consecutive day.

DeVonta Smith (hamstring), meanwhile, was a full participant again and is on track to return Sunday against Carolina.