The New York Giants made Saquon Barkley the highest running back taken in the draft in some time after they took him No. 2 overall. One would think that that would put more pressure and expectations on him to perform and live up to all the hype surrounding him.

However, that might not exactly be the case. Barkley says that only he can set his own goals and expectations for himself and doesn’t feel the need to live up to anyone else’s.

“I set my own expectations. I set my own goals,” Barkley said per Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. “I set my own standard. I’m just self motivated and self driven. That’s just how I am, and that’s something that I’m never going to change. When people set expectations and say I have to do this, or I have to do that, I don’t have to do anything to meet anyone else’s expectations. I just have to live up to my expectations and put in the work I know I can put in.”

That’s certainly a mature way of looking at things by the incoming rookie. It’s easy for a young player in his situation as the No. 2 pick to get weighed down by external pressures, which could potentially be detrimental to his career.

But Barkley appears to have his head on straight in terms of knowing what he can and can’t control in terms of expectations. Having that sort of mindset should serve him well this season, where he will be under scrutiny to perform and live up to his high draft status.