Fans wanted the Chicago Bears to sign Saquon Barkley last offseason and there had been reports that the team was interested. In the words of Barkley himself, he was “pretty damn close” to signing with the team.
The result turned into Barkley being the most dynamic weapon in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles as they propelled to the Super Bowl. The Bears not only missed out on Barkley, they turned to D’Andre Swift as their backup plan.
Swift had his moments but by all accounts, he was replaceable and is currently viewed as a wasted asset.
The impact of this miss is pretty notable, but it is still fair to wonder if Barkley would have been as impactful in Chicago. First off, he would have been better than Swift even with the assets invested.
Saquon Barkley would have been an improvement over D'Andre Swift but not a difference-maker.
Swift played with the Eagles the season prior. Swift ran for 1,049 yards last season while Barkley ran for 2,005. The difference was from 4.6 to 5.8 yards per attempt.
Swift dropped down from 3.8 yards per attempt with the Bears, so even if you just factored that in, Barkley would likely have gone from 5.8 yards per attempt in Philadelphia to closer to five yards per attempt with the Bears. If he had the same number of carries as Swift he would have been at 1,265 yards. That would have been the third-best season for Barkley rather than his career-best.
That is quick and rough math but the outcome sounds about right for what to have expected behind this line and with this offense compared to the Eagles. The Bears' offense obviously would have been better but maybe that is the difference between one or two of the heartbreaking losses and the team has seven or eight wins instead of the five they sit with.