It has been 31 years since the last time a Philadelphia Eagle has won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award (Keith Jackson, 1988). That long drought could potentially come to an end this season, thanks to Howie Roseman drafting a skill player on offense in the early rounds for the first time in forever.
Pro Football Focus believes that Miles Sanders has a pretty decent chance at winning the award, placing him with the 2nd best chances (behind only Kyler Murray).
Here's what PFF had to say about Sanders:
"Running back production is incredibly dependent on the offensive line, and Sanders has that edge in a big way over Josh Jacobs. The Eagles’ offensive line was ranked top 10 in the NFL last season in terms of run blocking, and they added tackle Andre Dillard in Round 1. Sanders wasn’t too far a cry from last year’s Rookie of the Year either, with an 83.1 rushing grade compared to Saquon Barkley’s 84.1 in his last season at Penn State."
Jordan Howard is the favorite to be the Eagles' rushing leader, but the Doug Pederson and Duce Staley combination have been known to go with the hot hand and stick with a committee at running back. If Sanders gets hot and stays hot, he'll get the chance to become the lead back in the Eagles' potentially dangerous offense. Him being a factor in a dynamic offense will give Sanders good odds at coming home with that accolade that has evaded Philadelphia for over a quarter-century.
