What Saquon Barkley's career year and record raise means for free agent running backs

Saquon Barkley , Nick Chubb , Derrick Henry , Josh Jacobs and Christian McCaffrey joined a Zoom call in July 2023 .

Barkley and Jacobs had been franchise-tagged for $10.1 million -- lowest among all offensive and defensive positions.

Barkley signed a three-year , $37.75 million contract that included $26 million guaranteed with Philadelphia Eagles .

The top seven running backs in the 2023 free agent class combined for 3,093 rush yards .

The 2024 class is undoubtedly an outlier, but some in the NFL believe their success as a group helps strengthen a market that lagged behind other skill positions just a couple of years ago .

The most valuable of those running backs are versatile talents such as Barkley , McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson .

The last time at least 30 running backs were selected in the same draft was 2017 .

One team's initial position group evaluation, a league source says, also identified nearly 30 players who could be drafted.

An analysis by ESPN Research revealed the top seven rookie running backs of the past four classes have been largely more impactful than the top 7 free agents.