Despite having an impressive career year as a member of the reigning NFC champions, Miles Sanders didn’t quite hit stardom in 2022. But he could get closer with the Carolina Panthers.
On Wednesday, CBS Sports writer Jeff Kerr named Sanders as one of the conference’s 16 potential breakout stars for the upcoming campaign.:
Crazy to consider Sanders an “under-the-radar” player when he was the No. 1 running back on the league’s top-ranked rushing attack over the last two seasons. Sanders has been one of the more underappreciated backs in the league. Over the past four seasons, Sanders has 3,708 rushing yards — good for ninth most in the NFL during that span. Sanders has averaged 5.02 yards per carry — fourth best in the NFL among running backs with a minimum of 500 carries (fifth overall).
Sanders is coming off the best season of his four-year career, rushing 259 times for a career-high 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also put up a career-high 1,347 yards from scrimmage in earning his first Pro Bowl selection, finishing fifth in the NFL in rushing. Sanders will get that opportunity to prove he’s worth the money he’s making in Carolina.
Given the amount of that money, the Panthers probably think there are big things ahead for the 26-year-old. This spring, Sanders inked a four-year, $25.4 million deal—the sixth-highest contract for a running back in terms of total value.
And given that he felt a tad slighted by his former employer on the grandest stage of the sport, perhaps Sanders also came with a chip on his shoulder—free of charge.
