Miles Sanders

The shape of the Dallas Cowboys backfield took a dramatic turn Thursday night against the Eagles. Just prior to the game, rookie Jaydon Blue was ruled inactive.

This opened up opportunity share for Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders to take a hold of the Cowboys running back job. Williams wasted no time as he pounded in 2 touchdowns on 15 rushing attempts and 54 rushing yards. Sanders had 53 rushing yards on 4 attempts. 

The stats are misleading. Both of Williams’ touchdowns were 1-yarders and he averaged 3.6 yards per carry. Miles Sanders got 49 of his yards on 1 of his 4 carries, but also came away with a lost fumble. This is a great chance to sell high on Javonte Williams and the Sanders fumble should open the door for Jaydon Blue to get some playing time going forward. 

Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)

The Dallas Cowboys selected Jaydon Blue in the 5th round of the NFL draft. The rookie enters a running back room that is ripe with opportunities. Hearing the news that coaches are questioning his work ethic, expressing that he is “borderline lazy,” is not the start fantasy managers wanted. The rookie RB attended OTAs and mini camp, but no news broke that he got reps with the first team offense.

The Cowboys hope that the 21-year-old can mature throughout his rookie contract, but for a team that desperately needs him to see the field in his rookie season, this is a major concern. The backfield includes Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders and fellow rookie Phil Mafah. The veterans have the leg up on Blue for reps out of the backfield heading into training camp, but the lack of fantasy success shows Blue has an opportunity to produce; he will need to lock in and take advantage.

Williams currently has an Underdog ADP of 130, Miles Sanders at 188, and Jaydon Blue settling in at 147. With the news of Blue’s work habits coming to light, these ADPs are something to monitor moving forward.

Author: Dane Madoche(@FF_DaMaddog)

Miles Sanders’s best years in the NFL are most likely behind him, although there is a slight possibility that he follows Saquon Barkley’s footsteps yet again and has a career revival on a better team. Sanders put together some pretty good seasons playing in Philadelphia – in 2022 he rushed for 1,269 yards with 11 TD’s, he set a career high 5.5 yards per carry in 2021 and had a season with 50 receptions for 500 yards on his resume. However, his game completely fell apart when he signed with the Panthers, which cost him a role as a starter in the NFL.

Sanders will immediately compete with newly signed free agent Javonte Williams, who has a similar build, burst, and agility to Sanders but is 3 years younger… basically a decade in running back years. Williams himself is now 2 seasons removed from a horrific knee injury and has since struggled to regain his rookie form (203 rush attempts for 900 yards with 43 receptions for 316 yards). These signings certainly put a damper on the Ashton Jeanty draft rumors, however its looking less and less likely that Jeanty falls to Dallas at pick 12 anyway. The NFL draft will be a big indicator for what to do with Dallas RB’s in fantasy, a back drafted with their 2nd pick is likely to supplant both free agents, but if they go with a 3rd or 4th rounder, I wouldn’t be too sure. Last year everyone was absolutely certain Dallas would draft a running back, and yet those who held on to Rico Dowdell were rewarded with a starting asset for their fantasy teams. I’m taking the gamble on Javonte Williams on the cheap and adding Sanders for free where possible. 

Author: Lukasz Stec (@Lukasz_FF01)

The 6th year running back signed a four-year $25.4 million contract with the Carolina Panthers in 2023 after a career year in his 4th and final year with the Eagles. He recorded 1,269 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in 2022 with the Eagles. Since then Sanders only started 7 of the 27 games he appeared in with only 637 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns in the two seasons with Carolina.

Sanders was clearly a disappointment in Carolina as he is released with 2 years remaining. Sanders showed promise in Philadelphia after a stellar career at Penn State. He will have to take a minimum deal to hang on with another team.

Miles Sanders never lived up to his fantasy potential. His lone breakout in Philadelphia is likely the best we will ever see from him. Sanders will at best be a waiver wire pick up as he will be a depth piece on any team he goes to and he needs injuries in front of him to have a real opportunity.

Author: Jesse Baldwin (@J_Baldwin51)

Dave Canales named Bryce Young starter for the Panthers’ Week 10 tilt versus the Giants in Germany. Young engineered a game-winning touchdown drive against the Saints in Week 9, but completed just 16 passes for 171 yards and one TD. Ja’Tavion Sanders led the team in receiving with four catches for 87 yards. Xavier Legette had the lone touchdown, leading the team with six targets and catching four of them for 33 yards. It’s a low-ceiling passing offense in Carolina, Legette being the lone touchdown threat. The Giants have a bottom-third pass defense, but the Panthers-Giants matchup has a low 40.5 game total, the Panthers a 17-point implied total.

Jonathon Brooks has been activated from IR and looks to take the field in Week 10. He will ramp up slowly, however, spelling Chuba Hubbard along with Miles Sanders. Hubbard has been the bell cow in Carolina, average 14.8 carries and 3.2 targets per game. He is No. 11 with 773 total yards among running backs on the season. The Giants’ defense is also bottom-third against the run. With the muted game environment, Hubbard is a high-end RB3.

– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb