The Term 'Starter' is Passe When it Comes to Eagles' Running Backs

Miles Sanders remains the lead back but Kenny Gainwell is being prepared for high-leverage situations

PHILADELPHIA – When Javon Hargrave was asked about who was standing out among the backup interior defensive linemen on Saturday after practice, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle sounded like a coach in waiting.

"We don't really call them backups players for us,” he said.

Spin aside, it’s obvious that players like Hargrave, Fletcher Cox, and rookie first-round pick Jordan Davis are going to get more reps than Marvin Wilson, Kobe Smith, and Renell Wren on the defensive front.

But, it was a nice little nod to the players down on the 90-man roster who are working very hard to catch the eyes of the coaches and Hargrave did ultimately default to mentioning second-year DT Marlon Tuipulotu, who has shown drastic improvement compared to his rookie season.

Earlier in camp, though, running back Miles Sanders certainly showed the importance of what the label starter means for the players.

Sanders wasn’t thrilled when reporters factually pointed out his reps with the second-team offense have increased over prior years.

“Who made that article?” Sanders said. “If you’re really watching, you’ll see that everybody rotates.”

Sanders is correct and maybe the better narrative to push might have been that second-year back Kenny Gainwell and veteran Boston Scott earned the staff’s trust last season and are now deemed worthy to be a bigger part of that rotation.

Coach Nick Sirianni, who likes Sanders a lot as a player, was quick to protect one of his own who seems to have a chip on his shoulder entering a contract year.

“I don’t know where that came from,” said the coach. “Our backs rotate. Those first three backs, Kenny (Gainwell), Miles, and Boston (Scott), they rotate three plays in and out for the first two sessions of the period.”

Few doubt Sanders’ talent but he’s yet to put the complete picture together over his first three NFL seasons and this is his last chance to do so in Philadelphia, at least.

His biggest problem might be Gainwell, who seems to be penciled in for high-leverage situations like third downs, the hurry-up offense, and goal-line work.

The first two parts of that job description for Gainwell make a lot of sense due to his natural skills as a receiver.

"I’ve been doing that all my life," Gainwell said of his receiving skills. "I played quarterback in high school, but I also played slot and played that position in college. I feel comfortable with each and every spot on the field. I’m taking advantage of my opportunities and whatever comes toward me, I’ll take my footsteps and take advantage of it."

At 5-foot-8 and 201 pounds, however, the Memphis product hardly seems like a conventional short-yardage back, although he had some success last season which was tied to the offensive line and the plus-one impact of quarterback Jalen Hurts to the running game.

He had a team-leading five rushing touchdowns.

The short-yardage plan hasn’t looked great in training camp thus far but Hurts is the real bell cow in short-yardage situations for the Eagles and that will be the case again in the regular season.

That brings us full circle to that label of starter, which is probably passe at the RB position for the Eagles.

“Miles is our guy,” Sirianni insisted. “... It’s no secret, Miles is our guy and we like to rotate our backs, but he’s the guy.”

The updated, more descriptive language should be Sanders as the “lead back,” with Gainwell handling that high-leverage stuff, at least to start, and Scott mixing in as the complement and change of pace guy.

And if anyone gets the hot hand on a particular game day, the lineup card is always subject to change.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen