Ex-Penn State Football RB Miles Sanders stands alone in key NFL category

Miles Sanders spent plenty of time in Saquon Barkley’s shadow, biding his time during his collegiate career in Penn State Football’s backfield, but has quickly developed into one of the NFL’s most dangerous running backs.

Last season, the second of his professional career, Sanders finished 15th in the NFL in rushing yards, producing 867 on 164 carries and scoring six touchdowns as one of the more dangerous weapons in the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense.

Through his first two seasons, Sanders has rushed for 1,685 yards and nine touchdowns, while adding 76 receptions on 115 targets for 706 yards and three more scores.

Sanders also showed that he can be a legitimate home run hitter.

As Pro Football Focus points out, Sanders is the only running back in the NFL with four runs of 60-plus yards the past two seasons.

The Eagles face plenty of uncertainty in coming years, especially at quarterback, after trading Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts.

But, when it comes to second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts’ development, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a dynamic running back like Sanders in the backfield to take off some pressure and be able to dictate to defenses in the running game.

Barkley was knocked from last season in Week 2 with a torn ACL, but Eagles-NY Giants games will certainly have an interesting subplot in coming years as Barkley and Sanders square off in the NFC East.