PFF Predicts Miles Sanders will be in Offensive Rookie of the Year talks

PFF recently put together a list of their top-ten Rookie of the Year predictions, and Philadelphia Eagles’ Miles Sanders is listed quite high.

With the 2019 NFL Season months away, and the NFL Draft officially in the books, it’s time to start looking towards the upcoming season with some predictions. The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t seen a snap of their five brand new rookies just yet, but that isn’t stopping other platforms and publications from making predictions regarding their new guys.

Recently, Pro Football Focus put together a list of their top-ten rookies who are most likely to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Typically, this award goes to a quarterback or a running back, so we all know the Eagles don’t necessarily fall under that category most of the time.

Being that the Eagles have had their franchise quarterback for a few years now, they didn’t need to draft a brand new high-priority quarterback recently. And for whatever reason over the years, the Eagles have refused to spend a high pick on a running back as well.

So aside from Carson Wentz in 2016, the Eagles really haven’t had an offensive rookie that was coming in and expected to make a major impact. That all changes in 2019 though as the Eagles selected both, a running back and a wideout in the second round of the draft this year. JJ Arcega-Whiteside isn’t believed to make a significant impact in 2019, but Eagles’ brand new running back Miles Sanders is viewed as a potential breakout candidate by PFF.

Sanders for Rookie of the Year?

According to PFF’s top-ten list of their predicted Rookie of the Year candidates, Sanders comes in hot at second on the list. Their first pick was obvious with Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kyler Murray since he was the first overall pick. But Sanders coming in at second was a bit of a shock considering other offensive skill players were taken before him – especially Oakland Raiders’ running back Josh Jacobs, who fell behind Sanders on this list by one spot.

"“Running back production is incredibly dependent on the offensive line, and Sanders has that edge in a big way over Josh Jacobs. The Eagles’ offensive line was ranked top 10 in the NFL last season in terms of run blocking, and they added tackle Andre Dillard in Round 1. Sanders wasn’t too far a cry from last year’s Rookie of the Year either, with an 83.1 rushing grade compared to Saquon Barkley’s 84.1 in his last season at Penn State.”"

With the help from the Eagles’ dominant offensive line, PFF expects Sanders to be highly successful in the Eagles offense. While we don’t think Sanders’ potential as the Rookie of the Year is too far fetched, the idea of the Eagles having a steady rotation in the backfield should be taken into account here.

By the end of the year, there’s a good chance Sanders leads the Eagles’ backfield in all major categories – but don’t think for a second the Eagles won’t utilize Jordan Howard to his potential being that he’s only here for one season. We should expect to see a much-better backfield in 2019, but we’re sure Rookie of the Year isn’t on Sanders’ mind. Philly will make sure to let him know that the ultimate goal on this team is to win it all as a whole.