Eagles Will Likely Add a RB in the Draft
Miles Sanders is a lame duck in Philadelphia, a good player about to enter the final year of his rookie deal caught up in the purgatory of a devalued position with a disciplined organization when it comes to allocating finances.
Objectively, the only path to a Sanders’ extension with the Eagles is a poor 2022 season and if that’s the outcome you’d have to wonder why Philadelphia would want to stay in the Sanders business even with one-year, cost-effective contracts moving forward.
No one denies that Sanders is a talented RB, but through three seasons he’s topped out at 867 yards in 2020. His yards-per-rush shows incredible efficacy at 5.1 per clip during his career but much of that can be traced to a standout offensive line.
Over Sanders’ career, he’s gotten to run behind standout blockers like Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, and Brandon Brooks for prolonged stretches with Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson joining that group by 2021.
While Sanders rushed for an impressive 5.5 YPC last season, Jordan Howard (4.7), Boston Scott (4.3), and rookie Kenny Gainwell (4.3) all were north of 4.0.
The book on Sanders remains the same.
“He's a home-run hitter but he will leave meat on the bone at times when the big hit isn’t there,” a former NFC personnel executive told SI.com’s Eagle Maven when asked about Sanders. “I’m most disappointed that he’s never developed as a receiver despite the skills to do so and his pass pro is a negative for me.”
Moving forward, if Sanders finally breaks out in a contract year and puts together say a 1,300-yard season he’ll be too expensive for the Eagles, and if the status quo stays the same – ( 754 yards to 867 yards), that won’t be good enough to stop looking for a true RB1 that can lead Nick Sirianni’s committee approach in a more dynamic way.
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The organization is set on Kenny Gainwell, a natural receiver, as the third-down and hurry-up back and restricted free agent Boston Scott is more than capable as a backup but neither is the answer as a bell cow.
Jordan Howard is the year-to-year between-the-tackles chain mover who is more valuable to a team with a great offensive line like the Eagles than others but his future will be determined by what Philadelphia can add in the offseason at the position.
Day 1 is off the table for RB but by Day 2 the Eagles could start thinking about the position, especially in the third round. On the final day, it’s almost a given that the Eagles will take a stab at the position.
Isaiah Spiller
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Hassan Haskins
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Kenneth Walker
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Brian Robinson
USA Today
“I love this running back group. Again, I don't think there's going to be one that goes in the first round. I think this is a really deep group,” former Eagles scout and current NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said last week. “I was talking with a personnel director the other day and said, Let's just circle the fourth round.”
That personnel exec could have been Howie Roseman because that might be the wheelhouse for Philadelphia.
“You're going to get a great back in the fourth round, especially if you want a bigger back,” noted Jeremiah. “This draft — to me [Isaiah] Spiller from [Texas] A&M is my top guy, but you've got Breece Hall [of Iowa State] right there that's really, really close. … Those guys are legit. Tyler Allgeier [of BYU] is a big power back.”
As good as Howard has been for the Eagles in short bursts, his injury history with stingers and the worn tread from his early years in Chicago is a concern so the Eagles could upgrade his role in the short term while hoping a young player can prove worthy of the RB1 role.
“The power backs I really like, you've got Brian Robinson from 'Bama; Kenneth Walker [of Michigan State] runs much bigger than his 212 pounds. He's a really good player. Snoop Conner from Ole Miss is somebody I think is going to be a fourth-round pick. He's got speed and wiggle. He's a really, really fun player to watch,” said Jeremiah.
“And then Ty Davis-Price, I'm a sucker for any LSU running back,” the veteran scout continued. “It's something about that uniform and how they fit it and how they run. This guy is 232 pounds and he's just a bowling ball, just running over everybody. He killed Florida this year. Ran for a zillion yards. I think they're still picking up the Texas A&M safety off the turf from that game, too.”
The unintended consequence of a position becoming devalued in the NFL is that it offers value in the NFL draft. A first-round talent in a different generation could be a second-rounder and now and so one down the line.
“You've got Hassan Haskins [of Michigan]. There are going to be running backs in the fourth and fifth year this year that are 215-, 220-plus guys that can play,” Jeremiah assessed. “... I think the Eagles would probably be looking for one of those bigger guys.”
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
