Penn State Football: Miles Sanders’ productive workouts vaulting him up draft boards
Perhaps nobody has helped themselves this offseason more that Miles Sanders
When Penn State running back Miles Sanders declared in January that he was leaving school early to head to become eligible for the NFL Draft, it came as a bit of surprise. Having just one year as a starter under his belt, had he really shown enough on tape to NFL coaches and scouts? Now, after some impressive workouts, it appears the answer to that question is a resounding, “Yes.”
At the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Sanders looked like one of the best running backs during workouts. He ran 4.49 in the 40-yard dash and looked like one of the best running backs running routes out of the backfield, according to CBSSports.com.
Sanders took that strong performance in Indy and parlayed it into another impressive showing at Penn State’s Pro Day. He once again showed his ability to be a receiver out of the backfield and showed off his skills as a running back.
A five-star recruit and the top running back in the 2016 recruiting class, Sanders clearly had talent before he even arrived at Penn State. Unfortunately, he had to wait a while to showcase that talent due to the presence of someone named Saquon Barkley.
After living in Barkley’s shadow for two seasons, Sanders had the opportunity last year to show that he could handle being the featured back in the Penn State backfield. He carried the ball 220 times for 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns. He also made 24 receptions out of the backfield for 139 yards.
While Sanders didn’t put up monster stats in 2018, he was still considered to be a mid-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. However, with about a month to go, Sanders is now being considered in the early rounds.
The latest NFL.com mock draft, analyst Peter Schrager placed Sanders at the end of the first round, getting selected by the LA Rams with the No. 31 pick.
dark. Next. Time for James Franklin to turn Penn State into yearly contender
Pre-draft projections are always subjective, and a lot can still change. However, for the time being, it appears that Sanders used a strong winter to place his name near the top of the list of the best running backs coming out of college this year.