Saquon Barkley has seen the criticism of those who think he can't be an every-down back in the NFL. On Tuesday, the top NFL draft prospect sat down for an interview with one of his staunchest critics, FS1 host Colin Cowherd. Last week, Cowherd highlighted some of Barkley's lesser performances at Penn State last season, and made the claim that the rusher had become overhyped by analysts.

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt also previously said that Barkley may not be able to carry the workload of former LSU and current Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, who rushed for 1040 yards on 268 carries last season as a rookie. Fournette was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, and Barkley is expected to be selected in the first four picks as well.

"I disagree," Barkley said about Klatt's opinion. "If you look back in our careers, I had more carries than Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey.

"I played in a RPO (run-pass option) system. We have multiple options throughout the play. It depends what the defense gives you. If you talk to any coach in the Big Ten they tried to take the ball out my hand. Tried to stop me from beating them.

"The reason why I didn't have so many carries in some games was because if we're blowing teams out, if a defense is trying to take away me and you then you got DaeSean Hamilton on the outside, Juwan Johnson on the outside, the best tight end in the draft Mike Gesicki, the best quarterback in college football last year Trace McSorley, in my opinion, you have all those weapons so if you try to load the box we're just going to throw over your head and put up 40 points."

In his previous critique of Barkley, Cowherd said he thinks it would be a mistake for the Browns or the Giants, owners of the No. 2 overall pick, to draft Barkley instead of a quarterback — likely UCLA signal-caller Josh Rosen or USC passer Sam Darnold.

A number of factors could affect where Barkley, who was honored with a parade in his hometown over the weekend, is selected. Behind the Giants sit the New York Jets after they traded with the Indianapolis Colts to move up. It is assumed that they will try to take one of the quarterbacks available. The Browns also own the No. 4 overall pick, which was acquired from the Houston Texans in a trade last season. Another team could try to jump into the top three, which could push the Nittany Lions running back further down the line.

"The best thing I can say is you can have your opinion, but put on tape and watch film," Barkley said. "I think if you watch film, it's a clear cut decision that I'm the best player in the draft."