JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It's hard to prepare for a test without a study guide. The Jaguars are facing that situation with New York Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley.
The first-round pick only carried the ball four times during the entire preseason, collecting 43 rushing yards against the Cleveland Browns in the exhibition season opener. Those four carries are all the Jaguars have to study when it comes to Barkley's role in the Giants' offense.
While Barkley displayed his talent in limited action, it's hard to create a game plan around a handful of plays. Though his 39-yard streak against the Browns showed off his speed and balance, there's more to Barkley than just his athleticism. Barkley's use within the Giants' offense hasn't been fully realized and the unknown aspect of his game has created an issue in preparing for the second overall pick.
"Coach showed us college tape and we got a lot of groans and moans because we don't care about what you did in college but we understand who he is," defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. "Like I said, you have to go back to college tape and one of the runs he had in that Browns game to really just see [his talent]."
The Jaguars are taking notes on Barkley's college tape because it's the most expansive study material they have at their disposal. Barkley was a juggernaut at Penn State over the last three seasons, collecting 3,843 rushing yards, 1,195 receiving yards and 51 total touchdowns with the Nittany Lions.
Tashaun Gipson will have his one-on-one moments against Barkley on Sunday. The veteran safety said preparing for Barkley will be a tough task.
"When you've got a guy who is a superior athlete with superior talent, unless he's playing these NFL-ready [college] teams like Alabama or Ohio State, his talent is really going to show," Gipson said. "It's tough because he's doing runs where he's shaking four people in one play and breaking 70 yards. I'm not saying it's not possible in the National Football League but it's hard to kind of gage his running style compared to NFL competition. I think that's tough for us and we're trying to get a feel for how he's going to run the ball but it's tough."
While some have embraced the college tape tutorial on Barkley, others have shunned the strategy. Linebacker Telvin Smith doesn't feel like the college tape will be a good indicator of Barkley's early NFL production.
"I don't want to go back and look at [Barkley's college tape] because that's a different type of [football] to me," Smith said. "It's a different mindset, so it's tough, but I'll get the job done."
Last season, the Jaguars took advantage of running back Leonard Fournette's lack of preseason tape. Fournette jumped out of the gate on fire against the Houston Texans as the Jaguars blew out their division rivals, 29-7.
Jacksonville's defensive players are hoping Barkley fails to replicate Fournette's performance against them at MetLife Stadium in Week 1.
"You know what, that might be our karma because now that I think about it, [Fournette] did that last year," Gipson said. "It definitely could be a similar [advantage for the Giants]. I think that's the toughest thing. Now going through it, you'd like to see more NFL game-ready film and kind of see how he'd like to attack one-on-one situations. Is he a [cutback] guy or does he drop his shoulders? That type of stuff, because in college, the clips that we do have, sometimes he just said 'I know I'm faster so I'm just going to run around you.' That's not always the case [in the NFL] because we've got two linebackers who are going to chase him down, sideline-to-sideline. It definitely doesn't always work in the league so it's tough to gage. You know you're going to get a good football player. That's for certain."
The Jaguars will face the Giants at MetLife Stadium at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter: @Mike_E_Kaye.