via BroBible
Earlier this season, Frank Gore stepped into the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame as its 31st member—a fitting honor for the human bulldozer who ground out yard after yard over a 16-season NFL career. Gore’s resume speaks for itself: 241 games, 16,000 rushing yards, 81 touchdowns, and a solid 4.3 yards per carry on 3,735 attempts.
In other words, if anyone’s got the cred to call out today’s best running backs, it’s Gore. At DirecTV’s Nothing On Your Roof Tailgate in Santa Clara, he sat down with BroBible to talk shop.
Against the backdrop of a massive inflatable George Kittle head and a legion of Niners fans seeking photos and autographs, Gore singled out Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley as the top talent in the league right now.
“There’s a lot of great running backs in the NFL. But the most talented one right now, I’m gonna have to go with Saquon Barkley. He’s big. He’s fast. He can make you miss. Something I didn’t see him do before is that he’s starting to drop his shoulders on people now. He does it now. He’s the most explosive. But also Derick Henry is starting to do his thing too.”
At 27 and in his sixth NFL season, Barkley’s been racking up the kind of stats that make even legends like Gore take notice.
With 130 carries, 766 yards (second in the league), five touchdowns, and a slick 5.9 yards per carry in his first year as a Philadelpha Eagle, Barkley is living up to the hype. This past Sunday, in a dominant 37-17 win against the Bengals, Barkley took advantage of a massive gap in the Eagles’ line for a 19-yard sprint, showcasing exactly the kind of explosive play Gore loves. Barkley posted over 100 yards for the day. Barkley finished with 108 yards on 22 carries.
After the injury-plagued 49ers capped off the weekend with a Sunday Night Win over the Cowboys, it was clear that Gore’s legacy—and his eye for talent—remains as sharp as ever.