Jamal Lewis Praises Saquon Barkley's Dominant Season, Proves Running Back Value!

Saquon Barkley's dominance this season is working wonders for his fellow running backs ... so says Jamal Lewis, who tells TMZ Sports it proves teams can't get away with neglecting the position if they want to win.

We spoke with the former Baltimore Ravens RB after Barkley rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns against the L.A. Rams in the Divisional Round last week -- his second game with over 200 rushing yards and his sixth game with two rushing touchdowns this season.

With numbers like that, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Lewis feels Barkley's on a whole 'nother level when compared to his fellow running backs.

"Man, he's just one of the backs where he's different," Lewis said. "He doesn't fit the description of probably any other back in the NFL right now."

Lewis -- who won Super Bowl XXXV -- believes guys like Saquon and Derrick Henry will have an impact on how teams build their rosters moving forward ... as orgs. will work harder to include a strong feature back.

"I think they both made a statement for the running back positions that you did need a running back," Lewis said.

"You see now the guys that last and going through the playoffs -- they got good running games and they have some good running backs."

Lewis knows what it's like to have success in the backfield -- he, of course, ran for 2,066 yards in 2003.

Saquon -- who joined the 2,000-yard club this season -- was 100 yards shy of Eric Dickerson's record after sitting out the final game of the season, but many argue there would’ve been an asterisk, given he had had 17 games ... while Dickerson had 16.