time to put up or shut up for miles sanders
There is no shortage of story lines that will be following the Philadelphia Eagles all season long. Questions like: is Hurts the guy? How will Coach Nick Sirianni fair in season two? And will this defense be dominant with their retooling? However, there is a rather interesting and under the radar story line that Eagles fans should take note of. That would be can Miles Sanders be the answer at running back for the Eagles in the future?
As people begin to look at the Eagles backs on the roster and how they will fair, it is hard to get a read on the position. When a team has a quarterback like Jalen Hurts, who led the team in rushing last season, the backs will have a lesser role than say Derrick Henry or Nick Chubb. Obviously, this upcoming season, the starting three down back is former Penn State back Miles Sanders, who is entering his fourth season. In what is a contract year for Sanders, one would imagine that he will need to ball out and flip the script on his ever-dwindling stats to earn his money. Not to mention the hype surrounding second year back Kenny Gainwell.
Coming off a rookie season in which Gainwell drew 544 all purpose yards and six total touchdowns, he is expected to have an expanded role. For one thing, the second leading rusher among backs, Jordan Howard, is no longer there. This opens up room for more snaps between Sanders, Gainwell, and sprinkle in some Boston Scott. Websites like Sports Illustrated said they predict Gainwell to have the biggest year two leap for the Birds. And Bleeding Green Nation as well as Bleacher Report put out articles touching on the frustrations of Miles Sanders as a back. So, there are many signs pointing to fact its time to put up or shut up for Miles Sanders.
Before getting to what it may cost to keep Sanders in Philadelphia, here are some numbers from the Eagles lead back that could state some frustrations and concerns with bringing him back. His best season of his career was his rookie season, where he amassed over 1300 total yards and six touchdowns. In the seasons since, he drew just over 1000 yards and matched the six touchdowns, and of course last season a little more than 900 yards and the famous zero touchdowns. Sanders production continues to drop each year, which having some quarterback questions could factor into that. Which means the numbers drop could not be 100 percent on him.
Regardless, elite backs do not care who is throwing ball, they make a way to dominate. The whole league knows the Eagles have a top offensive line, so the numbers should minimally remain consistent, not drop. Two seasons ago he put the ball on the ground four times, although to his credit only once last season. One of the bigger concerns with Sanders is injuries. He played all 16 games his rookie year, and since than he has only played 12 games in back-to-back seasons. Sanders overall rating on PFF did jump from 63 to 71 from 2020 to 2021 which is an upside. He did show flashes with back-to-back games over 100 yards late last season.
Overall, the drop in yards each year, along with the insane drop off in the passing game, 500 yards in 2019 to 190 yards in 2020 is cause for concern. With a team that has players the likes of AJ Brown, Dallas Goedert, and Devonta Smith, along with trying to figure out if Hurts is the guy, they will be passing the ball more than last season. Last year Gainwell beat Sanders in targets, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Watching how Miles Sanders improved in the passing game this upcoming season will be something to keep an eye on.
Say the season ends and the Eagles do want to bring Sanders back. Rumored numbers have been around the $6-8 million per year for Sanders. These numbers would put him up with backs like Austin Ekeler, James Conner, and Leonard Fournette. It seems like a fair spot to put him, considering the talent he does have. Which is most likely around market value for Sanders, all things considered.
He does have phenomenal breakaway speed and ranked second in yards per carry last season with 5.5. When watching a back like Sanders, every so often you will see that home run play that makes a fan want him as their guy. His elusiveness and quickness are never in doubt when he has the ball. But for someone who is trying to earn their contract, having your numbers go consistently down may not be the best idea. If he were to get injured again this season and have to miss time, one would think the Eagles may take a good long look at whether or not to bring him back.
While Kenny Gainwell is there salivating at his chance to take over, this position is Miles Sanders to lose. He needs to get his numbers back up, GET IN THE DANG ENDZONE, and prove once and for all he is the Eagles running back for the years to come.
