Fantasy Experts Say to 'Stay Away' from Panthers RB Miles Sanders

After trading away Christian McCaffrey to San Francisco last season, the Carolina Panthers hope that Miles Sanders can give the offense some of that same versatility that McCaffrey offered from the running back position.

Once the trade was made, the Panthers relied heavily on a power run game, featuring D'Onta Foreman. Having Sanders in the fold adds a different dimension that the team lacked down the stretch last season.

GM Scott Fitterer and head coach Frank Reich have made it pretty clear that they plan to get Sanders heavily involved in the passing game, but does that make him a more attractive piece for fantasy football owners?

According to Michael Fabiano and Bill Enright of SI Fantasy, they're not buying into the hype of Sanders putting up big numbers in Carolina. In fact, each of them have warned fantasy owners about drafting him this season.

FABIANO

"In his first two years in the NFL, Sanders averaged 13.7 points and 14.2 points per game. He’s been 15th at the position twice, once during his rookie season and again last season.

"That doesn’t seem too bad on the surface, but let’s peel back the onion a bit more. In 2022, Sanders scored almost 50% of his points in

four games

. Furthermore, he was held to single digits eight times (47%) and scored fewer than 6.2 points in each of his last four games of the regular season. That wasn’t just a last year thing, either.

"In fact, Sanders has been wildly inconsistent throughout his career.

"In 57 regular-season games, Sanders has scored 10 or fewer PPR points 27 times. So, he’s been a below average fantasy scorer in roughly

50%

of his games. He’s been held to fewer than 15 points 40 times (72%), and he’s scored over 20 points just 10 times (18%). Simply put, Sanders is a tough back to trust.

"This doesn’t mean I’m avoiding Sanders in drafts altogether. But I’m certainly not reaching for him and the headaches he has brought and will continue to bring with his new team. After four years in the league, Sanders is what he is … a decent but not great back who will drive you nuts with his level of fantasy inconsistency."

ENRIGHT

"It took Sanders four years, the best offensive line in the NFL and defenses simultaneously focusing on Jalen Hurts’s rushing ability to crack 1,000 yards and score double-digit touchdowns. Now his situation is dramatically different. Rookie Bryce Young will likely be the starter for the majority, if not the entire season and if it isn’t Young, it’s Andy Dalton. Sanders will finish as a low-end RB2 with minimal upside. Add in his fifth-round average draft position and I’ll be passing on the former Eagles rusher while laughing at everyone that takes him in every single draft."

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