Philadelphia Eagles: Keep an eye on Miles Sanders’ usage

When the Philadelphia Eagles took the field at the 1:11 mark in the fourth quarter of what would be their final drive versus the New York Giants, Miles Sanders was not on the field.

No, despite watching Boston Scott fumble away a promising drive mere minutes earlier, Nick Sirianni gave the nod to his 5-foot-6 change-of-pace back once more, “partly because Miles Sanders got nicked up in the game,” per the man himself (via Dave Zangaro).

The keyword there? Partly.

Despite clearly being one of the team’s top-three offensive weapons alongside DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, Sanders’ usage has been all over the board, even if his yards per carry average is virtually identical to his 2020 numbers sans any 82 yard runs to pad out the numbers. Sirianni clearly likes running backs who pick up consistent yards between the tackles over rushers with a Shady McCoy mentality, and that has placed the 2019 second-round pick in a bit of a weird spot as of late.

If Miles Sanders continues to pick up five-plus yards per carry, it’ll be incredibly challenging to minimize his role moving forward, but if Jordan Howard effectively leapfrogs the former Nittany Lion in practice, it could strongly signify that the Philadelphia Eagles will be looking elsewhere for a feature back in time for the 2022 NFL season.

Miles Sanders puts the 2021 Philadelphia Eagles in the best position to succeed.

Jeff Stoutland is a darn magician.

Despite his lack of a household name, Stoutland has outlasted two head coaches and remains a key assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles to this very day because of his innate ability to mold seemingly any player into a viable NFL lineman.

Officially listed on the Birds’ website as the team’s “run game coordinator/offensive line coach,” Stoutland has consistently crafted winning running games, regardless of whether his boss wants to go north-south between the tackles a la Chip Kelly, execute a pull-heavy zone blocking scheme, or fall somewhere in-between like Nick Sirianni’s still developing offensive identity.

Why, you may ask, am I giving Stoutland so much shine? Well, because if there’s anyone on the third rock from the sun who can craft a blocking scheme that would optimize Sanders’ talents while remaining within Sirianni’s coaching philosophy, it’s Stoutland.

I mean think about it, Stoutland, Sirianni, and company already have the best pulling center in the business, two ultra-athletic bookend tackles, and a slew of quality guards who can cycle in and out of games depending on the injury report. Factor in Jalen Hurts’ ability to draw defenders of his own in the zone read, and there’s little reason for Sanders not to be in the middle of a breakout season, even with a short trip on IR robbing him of three games.

Sirianni just… doesn’t seem to want to.

From Weeks 1-7, the Eagles averaged 116.7 yards per game with Sanders in place as their lead back but Hurts as their lead rusher. While Hurts still remained a huge part of the running game in subsequent weeks, once Sanders landed on IR, the team’s rushing yards per game jumped to 215.6.

Does Jordan Howard deserve some credit for that development? Sure, but remember, he didn’t do it alone, as his 68.5 yards per game only accounted for 31.7 percent of the team’s average rushing yards.

Okay, so let’s just say for the sake of argument, let’s say that Sirianni would rather headline his rushing attack with a power back like Jonathan Taylor and use Sanders in a Nyheim Hines sort of role, to put it in terms of his former players. That’s cool, Sanders led the Eagles in receiving yards on more than one occasion during the Pederson era and could add another consistent option for Hurts to target down the field, assuming he gets far enough in his progression to land on a checkdown.

And yet, despite having an incredibly skint selection of pass catchers, the team’s top RB averages a little under three targets per game as a receiver, which is a full target less than what Jalen Reagor typically receives.

Do I need to say more?

Sanders could be utilized in the screen game, stretch the field on wheel routes, or even just run the sort of short yardage routes that Kenneth Gainwell received in the team’s no huddle offense earlier this season. I know Sanders reportedly struggled with a case of stone hands over the summer, but he hasn’t recorded a single drop this season and only has 11 over the last three seasons on 98 targets.

Given the rest of the roster’s collective struggles to pick up yards through the air, there’s little reason why Sanders isn’t at least a regular contributor to that aspect of the game, if not a straight-up weapon worth recognition on the scouting report.

The good news for Miles Sanders is that if Nick Sirianni decides he’s not an ideal fit, there are surely a ton of teams who would line up to give him an opportunity moving forward. Either via an offseason, or even midseason trade in 2022 or the capitalistic freedom of the open market the following spring, Sanders will eventually earn an opportunity to shine. But for a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, who are on the lookout for building blocks to form the foundation of their future, writing Sanders off entirely feels incredibly shortsighted, as he can certainly help a team win games on the ground. Why not use these next few weeks to try to optimize his talents?