The Eagles have two freakishly strong athletes on their roster this season.
Philadelphia turbocharged their running game at the start of free agency earlier this year by signing former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal.
Barkley had 3 TDs on his Eagles debut against the PackersGetty
Barkley earned the nickname ‘Quadzilla’ for his monstrously muscular legs, while Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is a former power-lifting extraordinaire.
Saquon appeared on Jason and Travis Kelce‘s ‘New Heights’ podcast not long after joining The Birds where he was asked by the former Philly center whether he could beat his teammate in a squatting challenge.
“Who can squat more – you or Jalen Hurts?” Jason asked Barkley.
“That’s not even close,” Saquon confidently responded.
“You think it’s not even close?” Travis interjected. “Jalen‘s got you?” he cheekily asked.
“I don’t do that [squat] anymore but when I was really in that mindset of squatting I would put myself up there with a lot of people,” Barkley went on.
Jason then said he was currently watching a clip of Saquon squatting 585 pounds, which Barkley did once he was in the pros.
“It’s not even remotely difficult [for Barkley],” an impressed Jason commented.
Barkley appeared on the Kelce’s podcast recentlyX@newheightshow
The running back is an incredible physical specimenX@newheightshow
Ex power-lifter Hurts is also in peak conditionGetty
“I don’t max out anymore,” Saquon added.
“Those days are one of those days when you just push and try it.”
“I’m a better one rep max squatter,” he went on.
“The most I’ve ever put on my back was probably 600 [pounds]. [But] we don’t do one rep max now.”
“Jalen’s strong,” he added.
“He’s probably the strongest quarterback in the NFL.”
Jason then mentioned Hurts’ power-lifting days and it’s fair to say the signal caller is no slouch when it comes to jacking up huge weights.
“Everybody knows you’re the ‘Squat Machine’,’” Jason once said to Hurts on his podcast.
“They just don’t let that one go,” Hurts laughed in response.
As a youngster, Jalen competing in power-lifting meets, and as a sophomore he successfully squatted 440 pounds.
At a meet during his junior year in high school he squatted 570 pounds while also bench-pressing 275 pounds and dead-lifting 585 pounds.
He transferred to Oklahoma in 2019 where he shocked fans and teammates alike by squatting 600 pounds in the Sooners’ weight room.
QB Hurts was an exceptional power-lifter back in the dayX
Only three other guys, all linemen, were able to get past Hurts’ lift.
“You ain’t squatting that much though now,” Jason Kelce told his former teammate on his podcast.
“I could,” Hurts responded, who happened to complete a 620-pound deadlift in the 2021 offseason.
With the addition of Barkley, Nick Sirianni’s team now has two of the most formidable rushers in the game.
The Eagles still have their defensive deficiencies but their high-powered offense is among the best in the league – which was on full display in their Week 1 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the first NFL game staged in South America.
Barkley scored three touchdowns on his Eagles debut, powering the NFC East team to a 34-29 victory.
Saquon Barkley enjoyed the perfect Eagles debut
Barkley rushed for 109 yards and scored on an 18-yard catch and runs of 11 and two yards.
He became the first player to score three touchdowns on his Eagles debut since Terrell Owens in 2004, and was named the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career.
This was his first award since the season opener in 2022, when he had 164 yards, a touchdown, and the game-winning two-point conversion for the Giants against the Tennessee Titans.
“It’s a great start, at the end of the day, the most important thing is to get to win football games, and that’s hard to do in this league, especially against a great team like that,” Barkley said after the win.
“A hat trick is never a bad thing, but there’s so much that I can do, and that’s the kind of player that I am. I’m always gonna be like that. Go back and watch film, and obviously look at the good, but there’s a lot of bad in there too,” Barkley said.
Barkley and the Eagles face Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 in the Monday Night Football game.
‘Old’ Cousins could lose his job despite a $180million contract while Jason Kelce is very much in a new job after recently making his MNF debut on ESPN.
The legendary lineman appeared as an analyst on ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Countdown’ last week — the MNF pregame show ahead of the San Francisco 49ers‘ 32-19 win over the New York Jets — and will continue to do so throughout the season.
He’ll be looking to avoid another unfortunate wardrobe malfunction this week when he tunes in to watch his old team in action.
Watch the first episode of our brand new show ‘Run Down’ on the talkSPORT dedicated NFL channel.
