Fantasy expert believes Philadelphia Eagles RB Miles Sanders could be a sleeper

If you’re a Fantasy football owner, don’t be shy about taking Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders in the late rounds of your upcoming drafts.

In a world where quite a few of us play Fantasy Football, keeping up with the comings and goings can feel like a full-time job. Regardless of your strategy, one rule remains simple. Find guys who will earn your team points. One dean on the school of Fantasy is Pro Football Focus’ Jeff Ratcliffe, and he has a sleeper for some of your teams this year. He believes Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders could be a sleeper pick for the 2019 season.

Right there, some of you logged onto Twitter to type your rebuttal, but hold on for a second.

Following Week 2 of the preseason, on a night where Sanders rushed for 31 yards on five carries, an average of over six yards-per-carry, fans felt a little better than they did after the three yards he notched on three carries in Philly’s opener.

While some need to see more from Sanders and while others still are still scratching their heads on why Sanders is even being considered as a guy who gives anyone Fantasy value, it helps to look at Ratcliffe’s reasons for making such a bold proclamation. Here’s his take.

"The rookie second-rounder showed well in the Eagles’ second preseason game with five carries for 31 yards, including a 16-yarder where he ran through an enormous hole thanks to his offensive line… While this is certainly a very small sample size, Sanders was much more efficient than his backfield mate Jordan Howard… Heading into the heart of Fantasy draft season, Sanders is the preferred Eagles running back. Expect a committee in September, especially on early downs. However, Howard’s inefficiency in this style of offense will ultimately be his fantasy undoing. If you draft Sanders, just be sure to be patient. He’s a good bet to pay dividends in the second half of the season."

It’s in Ratcliffe’s explanation that we find the majority of the reason for the average Fantasy owner’s hesitancy. Philly runs a committee system with their backs. That makes sense, but here’s something that the stats won’t show you.

Everyone who mentions the Eagles’ Week 2 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars will probably bring up that 38-yard touchdown pass from Clayton Thorson to Greg Ward Jr. What gets lost in that is a block Sanders threw against a Jags’ blitz.

That was something that we were told was a weakness, but if Sanders can prove he can pick up those types of blitzes consistently, he’ll be on the field a lot more on third down. With the skills that we already know he has as a receiver, it’s easy to imagine him being on the field a lot for both passing and running downs.

With that being said, you can expect, with a desire to keep the older guys like Jordan Howard and Darren Sproles fresh for the latter part of the season and the playoffs, Eagles fans will see quite a bit of Sanders down the stretch. If he is Ratcliffe might be right. He could give your Fantasy team some pop as both a rusher and as a receiver.