The expectations for Whitehall High School’s Saquon Barkley in his rookie season seemed to be beyond reasonable.

Not only did he meet what New York Giants fans were hoping for, but he greatly exceeded them. Not only did he rack up eye-popping statistics, but he capped the extraordinary year by being named The Associated Press’ Offensive Rookie of the Year just two days after being named the fans’ choice as Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year.

The Penn State star beat out the Cleveland Browns’ Baker Mayfield in both competitions.

Mayfield’s year was much to brag about, too. He threw for 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns as he helped improve the Browns’ abysmal recent performances.

Barkley received 26.5 votes to Mayfield’s 21.5 in the AP balloting. There was a lot of social media buzz over which one should get the coveted honor. If the Giants had had a better season, there would not have even been a discussion.

Some thought Mayfield deserved the honor for turning around the Browns’ fortunes with a 7-8 record in 2018, compared to a combined four wins during the previous three seasons.

On the other hand, though, it was all the more remarkable that Barkley performed as well as he did with a team that went 5-11, a slight improvement from its 3-13 record in 2017.

The Giants started 1-7 for the second year in a row but rebounded with some impressive wins. The problem, however, was that the team blew fourth-quarter leads and were in 12 one-possession games, losing eight of them by fewer than seven points.

Barkley was described as a “human life raft for the struggling Giants.” He was selected second in the NFL draft next to Mayfield, but a number of Giants fans believed their team should have gone after a quarterback to replace aging Eli Manning, who wound up the 2018 season with a respectable passing rating of 92.4. Manning’s future with the Giants is uncertain at the moment.

Now, for those stellar stats: Barkley rushed for 1,307 yards, second most in the NFL; he scored 11 touchdowns on 261 carries. He also caught 91 passes, tying wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for the most catches by a Giants rookie. The 91 passes caught were the most by a rookie running back in NFL history beating out Reggie Bush’s 88 in his first season with the New Orleans Saints.

Barkley’s 1,307 yards and 721 receiving yards made him one of only two players in the NFL with 1,000-plus rushing yards and 700-plus receiving yards. The Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey was the other).

Barkley’s breathtaking runs around, through and leaping over defenders netted him the most scrimmage yards in the NFL with 2,028. His total scrimmage yards were the third most by a rookie, trailing only Eric Dickerson (2,212) and Edgerin James (2,139).

Barkley topped off the year by appearing in the Pro Bowl, the first Giants rookie to do so since Tucker Frederickson in 1965.

Barkley wowed the NFL with some fantastic runs. None was more electrifying than his 78-yard touchdown scamper in the Giants’ romp over the Washington Redskins, 40-16, late in the season.

The speedy Barkley was clocked at 21.9 miles an hour, the fastest of any rushing touchdown of the season, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

NFL writer Art Stapleton asked in an article in late December, “Is Barkley the best at his position already?” Answering his own question, Stapleton said there is a valid argument to be made on Barkley’s behalf. “If nothing else,” Stapleton wrote, “he’s earned the right to be part of that conversation.”

Barkley wants to be in that rarefied elite group. “I want to be great,” he said. “I want to go down as one of the best. That’s not going to just happen in one day. You have to work for it.”

Barkley is a hard worker, remarkably unselfish, and is quick to give credit to other team members. He believes the Giants have shown significant improvement and will only get better if they coalesce as a team.

With perks and incentives, Barkley made nearly $8 million in his rookie year, part of a $31,194,750 four-year contract that included a $20.77 million signing bonus. These are incredibly impressive numbers for a young man who turns 22 on Saturday. Fans have totally embraced Barkley making him the most popular member of the team. General Manager Dave Gettleman was lavish in his praise. Noting that this is the first time that the Giants had ever selected a Penn State player in the first round of the draft, Gettleman said, “I haven’t seen a guy like this in a long time, and I’ve been doing this for 32 years.”

Yes, it’s all sunshine and roses at the moment. Let’s hope it will stay that way, but big time sports can be unforgiving. Just ask Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz, who was recently the subject of an unflattering article by a Philadelphia sports outlet that quoted anonymous team members who called him “egotistical” and “selfish.”

For Barkley, It can all be lost in a moment of indiscretion — an unintended comment, a serious lapse of judgment.

Right now, so far so good. We congratulate him on his outstanding rookie season and look forward to his return in the fall to help elevate the Giants to the status they enjoyed when they were Super Bowl champs of 2012.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com