Eagles Miles Sanders lands outside the top-20 in a ranking of NFL running backs

 

Miles Sanders is one of the most dynamic weapons on the Philadelphia Eagles offense, but he appears to be fighting for respect as the 2020 NFL season nears.

Maurice Jones-Drew was one of the top running backs in the NFL during his time with the Jaguars and now with the NFL Network as an analyst, the former UCLA star spends his time analyzing the running back position.

During a recent ranking of all 32 NFL starting running backs heading into the 2020 season, MJD ranked the Eagles star No. 21 on the list, right behind Jets star, Le’Veon Bell.

Miles Sanders

Philadelphia Eagles · Second season

2019 stats: 16 games | 179 att | 818 rush yds | 4.6 ypc | 3 rush TDs | 50 rec | 509 rec yds | 3 rec TDs

Sanders flashed during his rookie season, and we should expect to see more big plays out of him as the starter out of the gate in Year 2. The speed added in the passing game should open things up for the dual-threat back. He needs to prove he can be the player he was at Penn State consistently and that can handle the toll of being the guy for an entire season.

Sanders should be even more dynamic this season after making huge strides as a pass catcher during his rookie season. If the Eagles can open up things in the outside passing game, Sanders could have even more room to roam and wreak havoc.

Christian McCaffrey was the number player on the list followed by Ezekiel Elliott (2), Nick Chubb (3), Alvin Kamara (4), and Joe Mixon who rounded out the top-five.

https://theeagleswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/14/philadelphia-eagles-miles-sanders-nfl-running-back-rankings/

What a load of rubbish. Not in the top 20? Utter trash take this one. 

@UK_EaglesFan89 I take it the last statement in the quoted section is yours (and not part of the original article)?  

What MJD might be missing is what Sanders did when. I think it's fair to say the second half of Sanders' rookie season was a little better than his first half. Not exactly a surprise for a rook.

He will be top 10 this year or next - sort of like shady was in his prime with a little less of the negative yardage. We just need a decent, slightly bigger # 2 plus boston scott as the little guy and we’ll be good.  

7 hours ago, time2rock said:

@UK_EaglesFan89 I take it the last statement in the quoted section is yours (and not part of the original article)?  

That's correct. Not sure what's happened there as I put that outside the quote section.

4 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

That's correct. Not sure what's happened there as I put that outside the quote section.

I've seen similar quotes in other posts here and have wondered whether it was from the writer or if it was yours but wasn't sure.  This one kinda seemed obvious (had a hard time seeing Erby using "rubbish"). 

 

I think that the bigger snub here is that Saquon Barkley isn’t in the top 5.

14 hours ago, mr_irie1 said:

I think that the bigger snub here is that Saquon Barkley isn’t in the top 5.

Yeah that's pretty bold too! Basically this list, these rankings are not work the paper they are written on.

This is a strange list.  At the top he says it's based on "who he thinks will have the most production".  Then, he says Barkley is not top 5 because his pass protection was bad:

Quote

Barkley is one of the most talented players in the NFL. There's no questioning that. BUT his pass protection is horrible. Remember when Jamal Adams grabbed the ball out of Daniel Jones' hands and took it to the house? Well, that was Barkley's block. He missed it, and it cost the Giants big time. I need to see this part of his game improve.

So, what is it dude?  Is it how well rounded a player they are or is it who will have the most production?

Either way, Bell had a 3.2 YPC, 789 rushing yards - Sanders had a 4.6 YPC with 818 rushing yards.  Sorry, why is he ranked lower?  

 

13 hours ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

This is a strange list.  At the top he says it's based on "who he thinks will have the most production".  Then, he says Barkley is not top 5 because his pass protection was bad:

A strange list and a bad article? 😁 I could perhaps understand Sanders not being top 10 but not top 20? Going in to a season where he's the lead back after a season where he put up really good numbers despite not being the starter until a few weeks in to the season?

Who cares what that midget says. He has always shown an anti-Eagles Bias.

9 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

A strange list and a bad article? 😁 I could perhaps understand Sanders not being top 10 but not top 20? Going in to a season where he's the lead back after a season where he put up really good numbers despite not being the starter until a few weeks in to the season?

Seems like not many people were paying any attention to Miles Sanders last year.  I think the dude is about to explode this season.  I remember BWest made a HUGE jump from 1st year to 2nd year, and I think Miles will do that, too.  Lots of talent at RB in the NFL, it would be a tad bit disrespectful to that talent to make him top-10.  He's certainly top-20, though.  

56 minutes ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

Seems like not many people were paying any attention to Miles Sanders last year.  I think the dude is about to explode this season.  I remember BWest made a HUGE jump from 1st year to 2nd year, and I think Miles will do that, too.  Lots of talent at RB in the NFL, it would be a tad bit disrespectful to that talent to make him top-10.  He's certainly top-20, though.  

I'm optimistic on what he can do this chances though perhaps a little reserved. I mean there is a chance that with more tape on him teams figure out how to use him. I think he's a really good young player so I think he's going to have a really good year but I'm just slightly hesitant.

To be honest, I like him being ranked where he is. Gives him a chip on his shoulder to prove the so called experts wrong. 

10 hours ago, DeathByEagle said:

To be honest, I like him being ranked where he is. Gives him a chip on his shoulder to prove the so called experts wrong. 

I mean it may do yeah. Not sure he'll get too worked up by a ranking by Maurice. 

Players get worked up over a madden rating. Just like the rest of the world these guys are sensitive, lol. Doesnt matter who is rating them, having a comment etc.