Saquon Barkley Says No One Has Hit Him Harder Than Tyler Lacy

Saquon Barkley has done it all in the NFL — he’s won a Super Bowl, he’s won Offensive Player of the Year, heck, he’s jumped over a defender backward.

But not long after touching the ground after that highlight seen ’round the world, Barkley took a 6-foot-4, 279-pound Tyler Lacy to the back. Lacy was part of a group that clobbered Barkley after the reverse hurdle, and last month, Barkley said it was the hardest he has been hit while playing in the men’s league.

“Actually the hardest I’ve been hit in the NFL was the jump — when I jumped over the dude backewards,” Barkley told Bleacher Report. “One of the D-linemen (Lacy), like hit me in the (back). …

“I knew at that moment, I was like, ‘Wow, that hit hurt.’ My back kind locked up on me. That’s probably one of the biggest shots I took in a long time.”

SAQUON BARKLEY IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.

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A former Oklahoma State Cowboy, Lacy finished his second year in the NFL this past season. He had 25 tackles, two tackles for loss and a QB hit in 2024 , and through two years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he’s made 37 tackles and three tackles for loss.

The Jaguars took Lacy in the fourth round (130th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft after a successful college career in Stillwater.

OSU survived a late push from Texas to secure Lacy’s John Hancock on signing day. After redshirting in 2018, Lacy had at least 20 tackles in all four of his playing seasons. He set career-highs in OSU’s Fiesta Bowl-winning 2021 season in tackles (34) and tackles for loss (11). His career ended with 113 total tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.

He heads into his third year in the NFL under new leadership after the franchise moved on from Doug Pederson after last season and hired Liam Coen. Here’s to hoping the shakeup up top sees Lacy with more opportunities to crush ball carriers in 2025.