Gimme him: One player the Bears would steal from the Eagles

The Chicago Bears have a short week to prepare for the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the showcase matchup on Black Friday. Chicago, at 8-3 on the season, will face an Eagles team with an identical record, but both teams have very differing identities, or lack thereof coming into this one.

With many headlines coming out of their locker room, particularly from their disgruntled offensive stars in quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver AJ Brown, the Eagles have a lot to figure out on the offensive side of the ball. Chicago, on the other hand, is a team being carried by respectable quarterback play by Caleb Williams in his second season and a defense that leads the league in takeaways, with 24 coming into this Week 13 matchup.

Head coach Ben Johnson has completely flipped the offensive script for the Bears for the better, putting them as one of the top offenses in the NFL. While the Eagles should be one of those teams, they're struggling mightily. On this week's edition of "Gimme Him," we're focused on one playmaker that is already a franchise changer but would be taken to a whole different level in Johnson's offense, putting Saquon Barkley on the Bears.

One season after he won the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year, where he rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns, Barkley has had a much slower start to the season this year. Entering Week 13, Barkley has just 684 yards rushing and four touchdowns. But, as previously mentioned, the Eagles offense as a whole has struggled to find themselves and their identity. Barkley is in the elite class of running backs, which holds very small class of players in that group.

Barkley's first season in Philadelphia was magical, winning a top NFL player performance award, winning the Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs and rushing for over 2,000 yards. Even more, Barkley signed with Philadelphia after departing from the NFC East rival New York Giants, and stuck it to his old team in more ways than one. There were questions about his long-term health and if he was worth a high-contract, and the answer was he's good on both fronts.

Reports indicate that Barkley had considered signing with Chicago before ultimately joining Philadelphia, but with Matt Eberflus roaming the sidelines in 2024, it was crisis avoided for the All-Pro running back. Ben Johnson has recreated a respectable running game in Chicago in his first year as head coach, and thinking of an improved Bears offensive line, and putting Barkley in a backfield behind Williams, the possibilities are endless.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs. Eagles: One player Chicago would steal from Philadelphia