Philadelphia Eagles veteran Lane Johnson believes new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion's scheme will unlock Saquon Barkley and get him back to his 2024 form, when he led the league in rushing.
"The more productive we are in the run game and stuff feeds off that, we'll see the Saquon from two years ago," Johnson told reporters, according to The Athletic's Zach Berman. "We'll see the big plays, we'll see him flex wide at wide receiver, we'll see him in the screen game."
Mannion is projected to revitalize the rushing attack following the departure of offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who played a key part in designing the Eagles' ground scheme in recent years.
The first-year coordinator is expected to call more wide-run plays and place a greater emphasis on the screen game than Philly has under Nick Sirianni. Since the head coach was hired in 2021, Philly's 44 running back screen routes are the fewest of any team, according to TruMedia.
Barkley took a step back last season after totaling 2,283 yards from scrimmage in 2024, the second most over the last five seasons. In 2025, he rushed for just 4.1 yards per carry, and 24.3% of his attempts resulted in zero or negative yardage, the second-worst rate among all running backs with at least 200 rushes.
The inconsistency on the ground hurt the Eagles' offense, as they ranked 23rd in success rate and 24th in total yards. Philadelphia ultimately lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round and fired Kevin Patullo after just one season as offensive coordinator.
The Eagles will hold their second joint practice against the New England Patriots on Thursday before a preseason tilt Saturday.
