Miles Sanders

At 26 years old, Miles Sanders has this physical status:

Miles Sanders (born May 1, 1997) is an American football player for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL).

After playing college football at Penn State, he was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Early years

Miles grew up in Swissvale, a borough 9 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended Woodland Hills High School, where he was a three-year starter at running back. Sanders chose Penn State over a number of other options, including the local Pittsburgh Panthers, after winning Pennsylvania's Mr. Football award during his senior year and attending the Under Armour All-America Game.

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College career

Sanders saw a limited amount of playing time as a true freshman behind teammate Saquon Barkley. He received the majority of his reps on special teams this season. While returning kicks for Penn State, Sanders set the school record for kicks returned in a season (33). He is also ranked second on the program's list for kick return yards in a single season (688), averaging 20.8 yards per return.

Sanders was selected as a BTN.com All-Big Ten Freshman Team honorable mention.

In 2017, Sanders played in 12 games, making his first college start in one of them. He started his first game against Rutgers on November 11, 2017. Sanders was presented with the 2018 Red Worrell Award, for the offensive player who best demonstrated exemplary conduct, loyalty, interest, attitude and improvement during spring practice.

With Barkley’s departure from Penn State after the 2017 season, Sanders was named Penn State's starting running back. Sanders started 13 out of 13 games in the 2018 season. On September 1, in his junior season debut against Appalachian State, he carried the ball 19 times, rushing for 91 yards and two touchdowns. That also included the game-winning 4-yard touchdown in overtime. After this performance, he was named the coaching staff's Offensive Player of the Week. Sanders’ most notable game of the year came against Illinois on September 21. He rushed for a career-best 200 yards on 22 carries. He also ended the game with a career-high three rushing touchdowns. He was then named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

To end the season, Sanders finished No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 15 in the nation with 1,274 rushing yards, was ranked No. 4 in the conference and No. 25 in the FBS with 98.0 rushing yards per game, and was No. 5 in the Big Ten and No. 40 in the nation with 5.79 yards per carry. Additionally, he finished seventh in the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns (9) and all-purpose yards per game (108.7). On January 3, 2019, Sanders decided to declare for the NFL Draft and forego his senior season of college football.

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Professional career

Sanders was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round (53rd overall pick) in the 2019 NFL Draft. He is represented by Beyond Athlete Management.

Sanders made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Washington Redskins. In the game, Sanders rushed 11 times for 25 yards as the Eagles won 32–27. In Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, Sanders rushed three times for six yards and caught three passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. In a Week 15 game against the Redskins, Sanders rushed 19 times for 122 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 50 yards and another touchdown in a 37–27 win. During the game, Sanders passed LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson for the most rushing yards by a rookie and the most all-purpose yards by a rookie in franchise history, respectively. In Week 16 against the Dallas Cowboys, Sanders rushed 20 times for 79 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 77 yards. He finished his rookie season with 818 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 50 receptions for 509 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

In the NFC Wild Card Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Sanders rushed 14 times for 69 yards in a 17–9 loss.

Sanders missed the first game of the 2020 regular season with a hamstring injury. He returned in Week 2 to make his season debut against the Los Angeles Rams. In the 37–19 loss, Sanders recorded 131 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown. In Week 5 against his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sanders rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard score, during a 38–29 loss. In Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens, he had nine carries for 118 yards. In Week 14, against the New Orleans Saints, he had fourteen carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-high 82-yard score, during the 24–21 win. Following the season, Sanders, along with Clyde Edwards-Helaire were selected to the playable Pro Bowl roster of the Madden 21 Video Game Numbers Challenge.

The 2021 season was a bit of a mixed bag for Sanders. While he started off as the team's feature back, the offense began to focus on passing the ball more, which led to Sanders spending more time on the bench. Through the first 6 games, Sanders had a combined total of 57 carries for 270 yards and 0 touchdowns. In the team's week 7 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sanders suffered a sprained ankle. This injury forced Sanders to miss 3 weeks of action. He returned in time for the team's week 11 showdown with the New Orleans Saints. Sanders stepped back into a large role in the week 13 game against the New York Jets, as he carried the ball a season high 24 times for 120 yards. In week 15 against the Washington Football Team, Sanders recorded a season high 131 yards rushing on 18 carries. His hot streak came to an end during the Eagles' week 16 matchup against the New York Giants, Sanders broke a bone in his hand, which forced him to miss the final 2 games of the regular season. All said and done, in 2021, Sanders ended the year with 137 carries for 754 yards and 0 touchdowns. He added 26 receptions for 158 yards, as well, across 12 games.

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