Philadelphia Eagles Running Back Depth Chart — 2026

A handcuff is the backup who inherits the starter's workload if the starter gets hurt — so the Eagles handcuff is whoever sits directly behind Saquon Barkley on the depth chart above. Rostering him is how you protect a starting back you have already spent a pick on. More on what a handcuff is.

Saquon Barkley took 74.4% of Philadelphia's offensive snaps and 72.2% of its pass snaps, drawing 50 targets. Tank Bigsby took 11.7% and drew 4 targets in 15 games.

Barkley has played 75 of 85 team games across 5 seasons, 10 missed — a real but not alarming rate for a back carrying this much.

The job is close to total: 280 carries at +0.28 yards over expected, 31st of 49 qualifying backs, 37 receptions, and 74.4% of the snaps — 5th among running backs.

The evidence elsewhere in the room is thin. Tank Bigsby took 11.7% of the snaps, 79th among running backs, and Will Shipley 10.9%. Neither cleared the hundred carries a back needs before a rushing rate is worth ranking.

Very few. Barkley's 74.4% share leaves roughly a quarter of the position for everyone else, and it was split three ways.

Bigsby at 11.7% and Shipley at 10.9% are both rotational rather than complementary — neither has a defined job Saquon Barkley does not also do.

That makes this a pure contingency room. A backup here has value if Barkley is unavailable and close to none otherwise.

No, and the gap is among the widest on any of these teams.

Barkley played 415 pass snaps, 72.2% of Philadelphia's, 7th among running backs, against 74.4% of snaps overall — a tilt of -2.2. He drew 50 targets and caught 37 for 273 yards.

Tank Bigsby drew 4 targets in 15 games, below the 25 a back needs for a receiving rate to mean anything. Will Shipley played 90 pass snaps, under the 100-snap line, with 12 targets — the larger of the two receiving records, though both are small.

Nobody here is taking third-down work off Barkley.

Reporting from a previous season, kept because a role a player has already held is the best evidence available about the one he might hold next. It describes 2025, not now.

The Eagles acquired Bigsby in a trade with Jacksonville early in the 2025 season, and he took the second running back job from Will Shipley over the course of that season. (Sports Illustrated (Eagles Today), 2026-06-29)

Shipley held the Eagles' primary kickoff return role in 2025. (PhiladelphiaEagles.com, 2026-07-07)

What the beat is reporting, last refreshed 2026-08-28. Nothing here is measured — it is reporting, attributed and dated.

A pre-camp depth chart lists Saquon Barkley first, Tank Bigsby second and Will Shipley third, with Shipley having separated himself from Dameon Pierce during spring practice (Sports Illustrated (Eagles Today), 2026-07-24).

Athlon reports Bigsby is poised to be the Eagles' backup running back, but notes Shipley is listed second on the team's own website (Athlon Sports, 2026-07-09).

Spring practice indicated the Eagles want a much bigger role for Saquon Barkley as a pass catcher (Sports Illustrated (Eagles Today), 2026-07-08).

Barkley and Will Shipley were described as the designated outlets on a lot of the passing concepts (Sports Illustrated (Eagles Today), 2026-07-08).

Shipley is called the best receiving back on the roster but must show more as a runner and pass protector (Sports Illustrated (Eagles Today), 2026-07-08).

The Eagles featured Shipley in the passing game with the ones and twos during spring practices, and he is the clear frontrunner for the third running back job ahead of Dameon Pierce and Elijah Mitchell (Sports Illustrated (Eagles Today), 2026-06-18).

Bigsby reported to spring practice noticeably bulkier and is expected to handle a substantial camp workload as the second back, while Shipley is expected to stay active in the passing game under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion (Inside The Birds, 2026-07-07).

A camp preview reports that under new coordinator Sean Mannion the offense will use more under-center looks, with two-back packages a possibility (PhillyVoice, 2026-07-01).

Geoff Mosher reports Bigsby's one-cut style is a better fit for Mannion's scheme and projects increased snaps in his second Eagles season, including short-yardage work to rest Barkley (PhillyVoice, 2026-06-04).