An ongoing joke between Miles Sanders and Shareef Miller became a reality

Miles Sanders and Shareef Miller used to joke about potentially getting drafted to the Philadelphia Eagles together.

It’s a rare occurrence when professional athletes get to stay put in their home state or even city to play for their local team. When it comes to football, you have a 1-in-32 chance of landing on your local team. It’s definitely not impossible, but it is almost unlikely to happen. That is of course, unless you are somewhere around Philadelphia. Then, the Philadelphia Eagles might make your dreams come true if that’s where you visioned yourself being as a kid.

The Eagles are never ones to shy away from the local prospects. In fact, they seem to look for them. We saw the Eagles draft a Pennsylvania-born and bred prospect in 2009 with LeSean McCoy out of Pittsburgh. Although he’s not from Philly, Corey Clement came out of Glassboro, New Jersey, which is about 20 minutes away from the city. Wendell Smallwood? He’s from Delaware. And recently, the Eagles signed Josh Adams, who is from the suburbs outside of Philly.

This year, the Eagles stuck to the same idea. With the first of their pair of second-round picks, the Birds chose Penn State running back, Miles Sanders, who just so happens to be a Pittsburgh native. Then, when the fourth round came up the following day, the Eagles selected Penn State defensive end, Shareef Miller who is indeed, from the city of Philadelphia.

As a fan, can you believe it? Because those players sure can. Before the 2019 NFL Draft even went down, Sanders and Miller discussed the potential of ending up in midnight green together. Being that they don’t play the same position, or are even in the same unit, it definitely wasn’t impossible. Again, it seemed unlikely though. Fortunately, the Eagles brought the joke to life.

A joke turned into reality

"“Sanders is a Pittsburgh native, but he said he and Miller actually used to joke about playing together after college here in Philly. “We actually talked about it,” Sanders said with a laugh. “We actually did. ‘Hey, we could both go to the Eagles. I mean, it’s a possibility.’ For that to actually happen? It’s a blessing, it really is.”"

According to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank, the ongoing joke ironically happened. Of course, both Sanders and Miller are not only excited to have an opportunity to play in the NFL with the Eagles, but they are passionate about getting the chance to be on the same team once again.

As Sanders knows how difficult the transition from college to the pros can be, he feels relieved that he and his teammate get to adjust and experience it all together. And the fact that it’s with Philly just makes the moment ten times more special.