Miles Sanders at Head of Eagles' Rookie Draft Class
Class has been in session for Eagles rookies for about five months, from the day of the first rookie minicamp in mid-May until now, six weeks into the regular season.
It’s been a steep learning curve for the four draft picks that remain after quarterback Clayton Thorson was released after training camp and signed to the practice squad of this week’s Eagles opponent, the Dallas Cowboys. And for defensive end Shareef Miller, he is still stuck in the corner and hasn’t been active for a single game, yet, despite four mostly productive preseason games in August.
So far, running back Miles Sanders is at the head of the class, and it’s not even close.
What Sanders has brought to the offense is a deep-play threat, something the Eagles clearly lack with the absence of DeSean Jackson. He is averaging 16.8 yards per catch on 13 receptions. His 219 yards receiving is more than all of the team’s actual receivers, except for Nelson Agholor.
Agholor has 230 yards receiving on 23 catches (10.0 yards per catch). Sanders is right behind him, but just ahead of the 215 yards Alshon Jeffery has on 24 catches (9.0 yards per catch).
DeSean Jackson is averaging 19.3 yards per catch but all that damage was done in the season opener. Since then, he has been out of the lineup except for a handful of plays against the Falcons in Week Two.
Sanders has recorded a 30-plus-yard play from scrimmage in each of the last four games, including his first career touchdown on a 32-yard strike to him from quarterback Carson Wentz against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and now has six plays of 30-plus yards – five receiving and one rushing.
“I don't think we're surprised by his development as a receiver,” said offensive coordinator Mike Groh on Tuesday. “We did our due diligence on him coming out of Penn State and we felt like he was going to be a really good pass catcher out of the backfield.
“I would say that any time you have six plays over 30 yards in the last four games or so, you're going to get the attention of your opponents. So he's made an impact on our offense in that area, and I'm sure that people take notice.”
Sanders’ ground yards aren’t quite there, yet but he has his yards per carry average up to 3.5 with 57 rushes for 199 yards. He ranks third among NFL running backs in scrimmage yards per touch (5.97) behind Dalvin Cook (6.08) and Matt Breida (5.99).
Additionally, Sanders has 222 kickoff yards for a total of 640 all-purpose yards this season. That puts him on pace to challenge for 2,000 all-purpose yards this
As for J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, who, like Sanders was picked in the second round, his development has been slow. The Eagles have begun cross-training him at all three receiver positions after a summer spent learning the “X” receiver role, which is the one occupied by Jeffery.
“I want to help you guys understand this,” said Groh. “When Alshon is out and misses time, he's the next guy in the game at that position. So in practice, he ends up having to practice primarily there. When Alshon is here, that gives him the flexibility to be able to bounce around a little bit more as opposed to just everything being in the classroom. So learning a new position and getting no reps at it is tough as a rookie player.”
First-round draft pick Andre Dillard got his most extensive playing time of the season against the Vikings, after left tackle Jason Peters checked out after 18 snaps with a knee injury. Dillard’s role may grow depending on the severity of Peters’ injury.
“You've seen him grow as a player each and every week,” said Groh, “so I think the more he plays the more he'll grow.”
Even if Dillard does play more and Arcega-Whiteside’s role grows over the next 11 weeks, they have a ways to go before passing Sanders at the head of the rookie class.
