Most takes in Philadelphia aren’t very creative or interesting. Let’s be honest.

It’s usually just somebody saying something contrarian in order to command attention and/or generate conversation or maybe even get people to call their radio show. The take providers typically don’t even believe what they’re saying.

But Tyrone Johnson’s Miles Sanders take is somewhat intriguing. Tyrone said last week that he thought Sanders had been “bad” this year, and the take seems to be based on the belief that Sanders hasn’t really taken much of a step forward, not based on the lofty standards he set for himself prior to the season:

“Sanders has been bad this year” would normally be seen as a outrageous take, like ESP level, considering the fact that Sanders is one of the few bright spots on a depleted Eagles offense. Err, well he was, pre-injury. I don’t know if “bad” is close to being reasonable, but Sanders has definitely had some disappointing moments beyond the stat sheet, and Tyrone’s pre-week six take was bolstered a bit by Sunday’s performance.

First things first, Sanders came into the season injured, and he’s injured now. So you could probably scrap the entire discussion if we’re considering the idea that Miles isn’t even entirely healthy. But the fumble on the opening drive in the Rams game was a total back breaker, and he fumbled again on a long run in the Ravens loss, which JJAW fell on for a touchdown. He also dropped a touchdown pass on Sunday before leaving the game.

On the season, Sanders has 71 carries for 434 yards and three scores. He has 12 receptions for 91 yards. Right now he’s got a 6.1 yards per carry number, which is #1 among all running backs and bolstered by the pair of 74-yard runs he had in consecutive games. If you remove one of those outlier runs, the YPC goes down a full yard, to 5.1 yards per carry, but even then he would be tied for 5th with Austin Ekeler and Jerick McKinnon. Another consideration is that if you remove that big run from the box score of the Pittsburgh game, he carried the ball 10 times for six yards otherwise. It’s worth keeping those big runs in mind when looking at his stats, and also think about the idea that Doug probably doesn’t get him enough touches anyway (he might not even have the durability and frame for 20+ touches a game).

One simple exercise I like to do for situations like this is take a list of NFL starters and then run your player against them. Make a brief list of #1 NFL ball carriers and ask yourself how many you would swap out for Sanders instead. Without getting too deep into the dichotomy of bruisers vs. pass catching threats, if you had the choice, would you start Sanders over –

  1. Derrick Henry? – no
  2. Dalvin Cook? – no
  3. Zeke Elliott? –  probably not, even after Monday night’s performance
  4. Nick Chubb? – I think I’d take Chubb
  5. Aaron Jones? – eh
  6. Josh Jacobs? – eh
  7. Raheem Mostert? – probably a wash, but I’d lean Sanders
  8. Kareem Hunt and James Conner and Todd Gurley? – probably pretty even there
  9. David Montgomery? – I’d take Sanders
  10. Antonio Gibson? – gimme Sanders
  11. Devin Singletary? – Sanders
  12. David Johnson? – Sanders in 2020 for sure
  13. Frank Gore or whomever the fuck the Jets are gonna use after trading Le’Veon Bell? – Sanders
  14. Clyde Edwards-Helaire? – Sanders
  15. Joe Mixon? – close one
  16. Chris Carson? – I’d take Sanders
  17. Kenyan Drake? – Sanders
  18. Christian McCaffrey? – no
  19. Alvin Kamara? – no
  20. Austin Ekeler? – Sanders
  21. Mark Ingram? – Sanders now, for sure
  22. Darrell Henderson? – Sanders
  23. Jonathan Taylor? – Sanders
  24. Saquon Barkley? – no
  25. Ronald Jones? – I kind of like Jones…
  26. D’Andre Swift or Adrian Peterson? – Sanders
  27. James Robinson or Myles Gaskin? – I’d take Sanders
  28. Sony Michel? – Sanders

 

It’s interesting to think about. I asked for input on Twitter and most people felt that Sanders would start on something like 18-22 NFL teams. Most had him pegged as a very good RB #1, but hovering just outside the top eight/top 10 and clearly behind the first tier of NFL ball carriers.

It all depends on how you value the RB position, and the Eagles obviously throw the ball more under Doug Pederson, so Sanders is a fit for what they like to do. But if we’re going down the list, he’s probably a second-tier RB in his sophomore year, yes? No? Injuries slowing him down? Banged up offensive line? Maybe the standards are higher because he’s a second round pick and set the bar high for himself.

In conclusion, we at Crossing Broad have determined that Tyrone’s take is pretty hot, but it does not reach the level of being a totally outrageous scorcher.