Sanders, a 21-year-old Pittsburgh native, spent three seasons at Penn State, but he was stuck behind Saquon Barkley for the first two. Last season, as a Junior, the 5'11", 210-pound Sanders rushed for 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games. He also caught 24 balls for 139 yards. Sanders performed well at the NFL Combine, running a 4.49 (81st percentile) 40-yard dash and earning an 11.08 (83rd percentile) agility score.
Sanders comes to the Eagles without much wear-and-tear on his body. He had only 299 total touches in college. To put that in perspective, Florida Atlanta running back Devin Singletary had close to 800.
Despite already trading for Jordan Howard, Sanders will likely see plenty of action with the Eagles, as Howard is not a receiving threat out of the backfield. Sanders is considered a fairly elite route-runner, as he was all over the field last season at Penn State out of the backfield. He was 9th in the NFL Draft among running backs with an average of 3.5 yards-after-contact.
Long-time Eagles' reporter Ray Didinger said Friday on 94WIP that Sanders would be a pick that makes plenty of sense for the Eagles.
"I like Sanders. He's tough, he's physical, and he also can catch the ball well enough that he can give you that part of the game too," Didnger said. "And I know the Eagles like him and I know they worked him out, so that's a possibility."
The Eagles selection of a running back is yet another sign that they are loading up on offense this season for quarterback Carson Wentz. After taking Sanders, the Eagles selected Stanford wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside with the 57th overall pick.
READ: Eagles select WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside in 2nd round of NFL Draft
With their first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft the Eagles selected Washington State offensive tackle Andre Dillard, meaning all three of their first picks were spent on the offensive side of the ball.
READ: Eagles bolster offensive line with top pick
Dillard is incredibly quick for a player his size, running his 40-yard dash in 4.96 seconds. To put that in perspective, Lane Johnson can his 40-yard dash in 4.72 seconds. Dillard had a quicker 20-yard shuffle — 4.4 seconds to 4.52 for Johnson — and just his three-cone drill was just 0.13 seconds slower. Is Dillard as athletic as Johnson? Not quite. But it is pretty close, and together, the Eagles have one of the most athletic set of tackles in the NFL when Dillard does eventually start.