Penn State running back Miles Sanders won’t be traveling too far from where he has spent the last three seasons as the former Nittany Lion was drafted 53rd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night.
Sanders joins a new look running back room for the City of Brotherly Love that is headlined by the offseason signing of Chicago Bears’ running back Jordan Howard. The move was made to replace free agent and unlikely re-signee Jay Ajayi.
Fellow Big Ten product Corey Clement from Wisconsin also calls Philadelphia home while Notre Dame alum Josh Adams rounds out the room with Wendell Smallwood and Donnel Pumphrey. Howard played his final season of college at Indiana.
On the field Sanders will give the Eagles another pass catching option in a busy offensive system but will likely need to work on his pass protection to open up the types of downs he is available for.
Fittingly for Sanders, forever looking to forge his own path, he joins the NFC East inside 200 miles of Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants. Sanders’ selection marks the first time Penn State running backs have been drafted in the first two rounds in back-to-back years since 1980 (Matt Suhey – 1980; 2nd round, #46 overall – Bears) and 1981 (Booker Moore – 1981; 1st round, #28 overall – Bills).
Sanders is the first Nittany Lion off the board during the 2019 NFL Draft.
The moment Miles Sanders joined the fam.#EaglesDraft | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/mx3wFgXKU6
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) April 27, 2019
