4. Miles Sanders, RB
The Miles Sanders hype took a while to fire up, but the rookie running back has finally arrived. A few months back, the Eagles took a risk they haven’t taken in ten years. That’s drafting a running back as early as the second round. The last time they did that was in 2009 for LeSean McCoy. This year, they did it with Miles Sanders who showed flashes of LeSean McCoy at practice.
Every day we hear the same thing about Sanders at practice — he just looks different compared to the other running backs on board. That’s a good thing. While guys such as Jordan Howard, Darren Sproles, Corey Clement, etc. are proven in their own ways, Sanders just brings a different look to the table. And the way that he runs is in fact, reminiscent of McCoy.
Now, we won’t go as far as to say Sanders is there quite yet — but the run-styles can be compared. Don’t get overexcited this early though. Just remember, McCoy was phenomenal all-around. He could be an elusive runner, a solid pass-catcher, and a good blocker too. Sanders, on the other hand, has to work on all those other aspects of his game still. But so far, he’s been on the right path to stardom out of the Eagles backfield — so there’s that.