Getty Miles Sanders of the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles rookie running back Miles Sanders enjoyed the best game of his young NFL career one week ago. The former Penn State Nittany Lion totaled 126 yards from scrimmage vs. the Detroit Lions, racking up 12.60 points in the midst.
However, despite his double-digit outing in Week 3, the running back has averaged just 7.6 fantasy points this season. Being a Sanders owner has been a bit of a headache thus far. He clearly has the talent to break through, but something hasn’t quite clicked.
Can you trust Sanders in your fantasy lineup vs. the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night? Let’s find out.
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Miles Sanders Fantasy Outlook vs. Green Bay Packers
In Week 3, for the first time in Miles Sanders’ career, he averaged more than 2.8 ypc in a game. Sanders’ 4.1 ypc vs. Detroit helped him outpace his original single-game career-high for total yards by 89. For all the good the running back did, he also put the pigskin on the ground twice in the span of five plays. Not the best thing to do, especially when you’re part of a three-man rotation in the backfield.
Many have pointed out the fact that Philly showed faith in their second-round running back, going back to Sanders despite his miscues. However, there was an alarming statistic in the Philly backfield last Sunday. Not only did the game mark the first time that Sanders didn’t lead the Eagles running backs in snaps, there was a nearly three-way tie between him (26), Darren Sproles (27), and Jordan Howard (25). Sanders’ played just 34% of the snap vs. Detroit. This came on the heels of playing an average of 45.5% of the snaps the two weeks prior.
Still, Sanders is clearly the most gifted of the Eagles three options in the backfield and will likely warrant a decent amount of touches once again in Week 4. That is, as long as he holds on to the football.
On the surface, a matchup with the suddenly vaunting Green Bay Packers defense seems like enough to deter you from playing Sanders on Thursday night. However, for all the good Green Bay has done defensively this season, they have been extremely generous to opposing running backs. In fact, the Packers have allowed the third-most fantasy points to RBs through the first three weeks of 2019.
Dalvin Cook and Phillip Lindsay both racked up nearly 27 fantasy points apiece vs. Green Bay over the past two weeks.
Should You Start or Sit Miles Sanders in Week 4?
Sanders has a slight edge in what is a crowded backfield in Philadelphia. He should get somewhere between 12-15 touches on Thursday night. This isn’t the amount of usage you’d want from an RB2. However, he’s a decent flex start against the Pack.
Sanders has a decent shot of finding paydirt in this game for the first time in his young career. Green Bay has allowed three rushing touchdowns to opposing running backs over the past two weeks.
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