2023 NFL Free Agency: Predicting where top 10 running backs land

4. Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles made it to the Super Bowl this past year thanks largely to the effectiveness of their running game. Miles Sanders was a big part of that all throughout the season, although if you do a quick scan through Twitter, it doesn’t seem like many Eagles fans would be sad to see him go.

Over the course of his four years with the Eagles, Sanders has averaged 5.0 yards per carry. He made the Pro Bowl this past season after finishing just shy of 1,300 rushing yards with 11 total touchdowns. The Eagles certainly used a variety of running backs but Sanders was the leader of the pack.

It seems like there are many people out there who project that Sanders will be the “top” running back to actually hit the market if you consider the top four players on our list here (Jacobs, Barkley, Pollard, Sanders) to be the consensus top four. If he does hit the market, Sanders shouldn’t have much of an issue finding a new home.

Anytime free agents leave one team for another, you’ve got to look for some major coaching connections. Considering the fact that Miles Sanders is a Pennsylvania lifer at this point (Pittsburgh native, played at Penn State, drafted by Philadelphia), it stands to reason he would want some level of comfortability with his new destination.

It just so happens that former Eagles running backs coach and assistant head coach Duce Staley (who was around for the beginning of Sanders’ NFL career) is now part of Frank Reich’s Avengers-level coaching staff in Carolina. The Panthers don’t have Christian McCaffrey anymore. Their top back — D’Onta Foreman — is a free agent (more on him later). They have a need for offensive playmakers.

We saw how heavily Reich emphasized the running game when he had Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis. Now, I think we’ll see him land a big-time player like Sanders in Carolina, with an assist to Duce Staley.

Prediction: Signs with Carolina Panthers