After a spectacular rookie season in 2018 with the mediocre New York Giants, Whitehall High School grad Saquon Barkley was sitting on top of the football world.

Sports analysts branded him as the Giants’ franchise - a key player around whom to build a winning team.

In his first year in the NFL, he was named “Rookie of the Year,” piling up more than 2,000 all-purpose yards, including 1,307 on the ground, next only to the Dallas Cowboys’ Zeke Elliott. Barkley also had 91 receptions compared to Elliott’s 77. He was also selected to play in the prestigious Pro Bowl game.

After a much less productive second season, Barkley still managed to top 1,000 rushing yards, while missing three games because of an injury.

Then on Sept. 20, disaster struck: Barkley suffered a season-ending injury after being tackled hard at the start of the second quarter in the Giants’ 17-13 loss to the Chicago Bears. He had to be helped off the field after pounding on the ground with his fists in excruciating pain.

The Giants’ worst fears were confirmed a day later when tests revealed Barkley has a torn ACL and is out for the season.

Barkley will undergo surgery within the next month after the swelling goes down. His recovery will be closely watched by NFL fans, especially since he is one of the most popular players in the league.

In a 2018 column I wrote about Barkley-mania before his high draft pick, a parade was held in his honor in Coplay, the Lehigh County community where he and his family lived during his Whitehall-playing days. An area representative sponsored a “Saquon Barkley Day” at the state capitol building in Harrisburg. There were countless other tributes and accolades for the then 21-year-old.

Despite all the hoopla, I warned that playing at the NFL level is a snake pit of dangers. Aside from failing to meet the lofty expectations that would be set for him, I said he could be subject to serious injury and other perils. I didn’t want to be right.

Barkley rushed for 28 yards on four carries before the injury against the Bears. A week earlier, in the Giants’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Barkley had just six yards in 15 carries and caught six passes for 60 yards.

On his CBS radio show after the Steelers’ game, former Giants’ great Tiki Barber had some harsh criticism about Barkley’s protective blocking lapses which led to quarterback Daniel Jones being sacked.

Barkley responded, saying he didn’t take Barber’s criticism as being disrespectful, but he also said that he pays attention to suggestions and critiques within the Giants organization while tuning out extraneous comments and criticism.

Until Barber’s criticism, Barkley has had an unusually long honeymoon period with the New York area press corps, which is considered among the toughest anywhere.

After an outstanding three-year career at Penn State, Barkley was a first-round draft pick and was chosen as number 2 overall, next only to the Cleveland Browns’ Baker Mayfield whom Barkley beat out for “Rookie of the Year” honors in their first season.

Barkley has emerged as a team leader for the Giants, especially after the departure of veteran quarterback Eli Manning.

He also has become impressively wealthy, not only from his generous deal with the Giants - a fully guaranteed four-year, $31.2 million contract - but also endorsement contracts from the likes of Nike (he has his own clothing and footwear lines), Pepsi-Cola, Visa, Dunkin’, Hulu and others.

In Forbes magazine’s 2019 listing of the top 100 wealthiest athletes, Barkley checked in at #93 with earnings of $25.8 million. He told Inc. magazine that he does not touch his football salary income and lives off his endorsement earnings.

That’s a great strategy, especially seeing that an estimated 78% of NFL players face financial hardship within two years of retirement because of poor money management and binge-spending. The average NFL career for a running back like Barkley is less than four years.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com