Miles Sanders has cashed in on a career year with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 by signing a long-term free-agent deal with the Carolina Panthers. Sanders signed a four-year, $25m contract (which I’m absolutely positive is more like two years, then “we’ll see”) and heads to the NFC South after four seasons with the Eagles.
Sanders never really became the superstar back the Eagles hoped he would, but he still put up some decent numbers for the team. There is plenty to like about this move, both for Sanders and the Panthers. Fantasy managers should find Sanders an intriguing prospect as we head toward the 2023 season, although perhaps not an elite one.
2022 Review
2022 saw Sanders set career-high marks in rushing all across the board. He rushed 260 times for 1,269 yards while finding the end zone 11 times. He rushed 15.3 times per game and accounted for 49.5% of the Eagles’ rushing attempts. This was actually the fifth-lowest rate of 21 RBs who saw at least 200 attempts in 2022. But while he didn’t completely dominate the backfield, Sanders did enjoy a healthy workload inside the 10-yard line. Sanders amassed 26 green zone touches last season according to the Stealing Signals tool, good for sixth in the NFL.
For all the talk of Sanders being a boom-or-bust performer, he’s actually been a quietly efficient rusher over the last few seasons. Of all RBs to have played at least 40 games since the start of 2020, Sanders ranks sixth in rushing fantasy points over expectation (ruFPOE). Where he has struggled is in the receiving game.
