Miles Sanders had the daunting task of following Saquon Barkley at Penn State. He finished second in the Big Ten in rushing (1,274 yards) in 2018 though, and was drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019.

In the first nine games of his rookie season, Sanders split work with Jordan Howard and played more than half of the snaps in a game once. Howard suffered a shoulder injury in Week 9, and did not suit up again until a zero-touch game in Week 17 .

Sanders left Week 17 early with an injury, but that doesn’t diminish his late season run. From Week 11-17 he was RB8 in full PPR and RB10 in standard scoring. Trim off Week 17, and he was RB3 in full PPR from Week 11-16 as he averaged nearly 20 touches and 106 total yards per game.

The Eagles seem intent on adding someone to leech fantasy value from Sanders, with rumored interest in Carlos Hyde, LeSean McCoy and Devonta Freeman. It seems like a bad idea to take talent off the field too often, but Doug Pederson insists on using multiple backs if at all possible.

Still, here are three reasons Sanders can become an elite fantasy running back this year.