Miles Sanders, RB
Round 2, Pick 53
The Eagles tried to do all they could to load up on offensive weapons during the draft. And after seeing how difficult it was to produce on offense without a serviceable backfield last year, the Eagles knew they had to find a way to upgrade the running back position. So after seeing an impressive pro day out of Miles Sanders at Penn State, the Eagles made him a second-round pick.
At this point in the offseason, Miles Sanders might’ve proved he’s the most talented running back in the Eagles backfield. He’s elusive, he’s got great vision, he fights for extra yards, and is a stable pass-catcher. However, his lack of pass protection at the college level did issue some concerns for an offense which struggled to keep the often-injured quarterback untouched last season.
So far though, Sanders has flashed improvements in that department, while still remaining impressive in the others. During his preseason debut, Sanders didn’t get a ton of work. And with the limited workload he did take on, he didn’t look that solid, no thanks to a struggling O-line.
However, week two was a different story. After rushing for three yards in the first week, Sanders took off for a twelve yard run on his first carry the following week. That wouldn’t be his only standout play though, as he created a few more nice runs early on as well. Since Sanders will likely get tons of reps in the regular season, the Eagles aren’t giving him a lot of preseason action to avoid injury. But so far, what he’s put on display has been promising.