Fantasy Football

Miles Sanders

RB - PHI

Height: 5-11

Weight: 211 lbs

Age: 24

College: Penn State

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2021 Season Outlooks

Miles Sanders was expected to be a breakout candidate in 2020, but he failed to deliver in his sophomore campaign. Heading into Year 3, he could face some competition for touches, but he's still worth buying back into as a No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues. Sanders should be selected in Round 2 or 3 in all formats. Injuries to Sanders and the offensive line hurt his production in 2020 and, instead of seeing his Fantasy points per game rise from 13.6 in 2019, he slipped to 13.4 last year. But he still averaged 5.3 yards per carry. And, more importantly, he averaged 18.3 PPR points per game in three starts with Jalen Hurts. The Eagles added plenty of bodies this offseason to compete for touches with Sanders (including Jordan Howard and Kerryon Johnson, plus Boston Scott is still there), but most of them profile as backups, although the addition of rookie Kenneth Gainwell could impact Sanders in the passing game. Still, there's reason for optimism about Sanders this year. He might have failed as a breakout in 2020, but he can easily rebound this year.

:Sanders dealt with injuries that cost him 4 games and removed him early from a 5th in his 2nd season. That chipped away at his stat totals. But the advanced metrics pointed to improved rushing performance even as the offense crumbled around him. Sanders slipped as a receiver, though. How much of that came from the decline in QB play? We’ll see. But the new coaching staff has already showed an affinity for the screen game. And Sirianni’s history appears RB-friendly. Sanders also faces light competition. Philly added only 5th-round pick Kenneth Gainwell and Lions castoff Kerryon Johnson to an already-shallow backfield. Sanders looks like an easy buy at his Round 3 ADP.

Sanders returns as the feature back in Philadelphia after an injury-plagued, but productive 2020 campaign. The 2019 second-round pick missed nearly five full games, but averaged 14.1 carries and 4.6 targets per game during the 11 weeks he was a full go. He was RB11 in fantasy points those weeks and his 5.3 YPC for the season was second-best among backs. Sanders is only 24 years old, a capable receiver (he ranked seventh in receiving yards and second in YPT among RBs as a rookie) and won't be short volume in a Nick Sirianni scheme that has leaned heavily on the run the past two seasons. Sanders is a good RB2 with upside for more behind a good (and now healthy) Eagles' offensive line.

Miles Sanders should be the centerpiece of the new coaching staff's rebuild. Over his first two seasons, he's proven capable of shouldering the load both as a punishing inside runner and an explosive open-field threat. The 5-foot-11, 215-pounder has excellent vision and balance and averaged an impressive 5.3 yards per rush last year despite routinely facing stacked lines because of the team's non-threatening receiving corps. While durability is a question mark, he enters training camp healthy and ready to emerge as one of the NFC's top tailbacks. The front office's decisions to claim Kerryon Johnson off waivers and re-sign Jordan Howard cast some doubt on whether they share our enthusiasm for Sanders' ability to carry a massive workload.