Eagles' Miles Sanders 'Absolutely' Ready for Bigger Workload in 2nd Season

With Jordan Howard now on the Miami Dolphins and a successful rookie season under his belt, Philadelphia Eagles running back Miles Sanders said he "absolutely" expects a bigger workload during the 2020 campaign.

"I believe that's why they drafted me in the first place," Sanders said during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com). "It was really just a switch, honestly, that turned. All of a sudden, I was a starting running back, and I didn't start at the beginning of the season. So, I just looked at it as an opportunity, and I just attacked it."

Philadelphia selected Sanders with a second-round pick out of Penn State in the 2019 draft, and he wasted little time making an impact.

An injury to Howard cleared the way for the 5'11", 211-pound Pittsburgh native to eventually become more involved. He finished the season with 818 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 4.6 yards per carry while appearing in all 16 regular-season games. He also added 50 catches for 509 yards and three more touchdowns.

Sanders helped lead the Eagles to the NFC East title and demonstrated the speed and agility in the open field to pick up additional yards even though the offensive line was a solid-but-unspectacular 14th in the league in run blocking, per Football Outsiders' metrics.

He figures to see an even bigger workload in 2020, especially since, as Patra pointed out, Boston Scott and Corey Clement are "change-of-pace type backs" who likely won't challenge him for the starting role.

Sanders is versatile enough with his receiving ability to stay on the field for all three downs and will be a central focus in Philadelphia's offense.

He is ready for that to be the case.