Report: Eagles hosting Miles Sanders on pre-draft visit

The Philadelphia Eagles are hosting Penn State running back Miles Sanders on an official pre-draft visit, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The Eagles previously met with Sanders at this year’s NFL Combine.

We previously discussed Sanders when Todd McShay mocked him to the Eagles at the No. 53 overall pick last week.

Sanders is an interesting prospect because there’s some thought he has untapped potential, especially as a pass catcher. He only had 32 receptions for 193 yards (low 6.0 average) and one touchdown for Penn State but he also had to deal with playing behind Saquon Barkley for two years. The Eagles should absolutely be looking for a dynamic, pass-catching back in the 2019 NFL Draft to pair with Jordan Howard. Sanders boasts quality athleticism and skills to believe he can be an early contributor in the Eagles’ running back rotation. There could be hope for him to eventually be the 1A in Philly’s system.

Sanders seems to fit the mold of what the Eagles are looking to add to their backfield. He’s the fourth known running back that Philly has used one of their 30 visits on. The other three were Josh Jacobs, Darrell Henderson, and Karan Higdon.

The Eagles could conceivably take Sanders with one of their two second-round picks (No. 53 and No. 57). Former Eagles scout Daniel Jeremiah has Sanders ranked as the No. 46 overall prospect in this year’s class.

A one-year starter at running back, Sanders took over for Saquon Barkley in Penn State’s backfield. He has good size (5-11, 211) for the position and a complete skill set. On inside runs, he can make defenders miss or power through tackles. He has good vision and feel for cutback lanes. He has plenty of juice to get to the edge on perimeter runs and possesses some wiggle when he gets into the open field. He is a reliable target out of the backfield, but needs to improve in pass protection. He had some missed assignments in the games I studied. Overall, Sanders has the tools to emerge as a quality NFL starter, and he has plenty of tread left on his tires (276 carries in three seasons with the Nittany Lions).

It’s clear that the Eagles (rightfully) still view running back as a need despite trading for Jordan Howard. It’ll be interesting to see who they land on to address the position.

Highlights:

Spider graph via Mockdraftable:

Complete list of known Philadelphia Eagles draft visits

Penn State RB Miles Sanders

Memphis RB Darrell Henderson - [Click here]

Ohio State WR Parris Campbell - [Click here]

Clemson DT Christian Wilkins - [Click here]

Louisiana Tech DE Jaylon Ferguson - [Click here]

UCF DT Trysten Hill - [Click here]

Arizona State WR N’Keal Harry - [Click here]

Alabama RB Josh Jacobs - [Click here]

Georgia CB Deandre Baker - [Click here]

Mississippi State DE Montez Sweat - [Click here]

Virginia S Juan Thornhill - [Click here]

Houston CB Isaiah Johnson - [Click here]

Houston DT Ed Oliver - [Click here]

Maryland S Darnell Savage (Local) - [Click here]

Boston College OL Chris Lindstrom - [Click here]

Oklahoma OT Cody Ford - [Click here]

Ole Miss WR A.J. Brown - [Click here]

Penn State CB Amani Oruwariye - [Click here]

Arkansas G/C Hjalte Froholdt - [Click here]

TCU DE L.J. Collier - [Click here]

Old Dominion DE Oshane Ximines - [Click here]

Michigan RB Karan Higdon - [Click here]

Florida S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson - [Click here]

Alabama State OT Tytus Howard - [Click here]