Miles Sanders has ‘more in the tank.’ Will the Eagles hit the gas?

If there’s one thing Miles Sanders and his critics can agree upon, it’s that the Eagles running back has yet to hit his ceiling.

“Yeah, absolutely. I’ll be lying if I said I didn’t,” Sanders said on Thursday when asked about wanting to accomplish more in the NFL. “There’s absolutely a lot more in the tank. But I can only control what I can control. And that’s all I’m worried about — winning and controlling what I can control.”

Sanders spent the majority of his interview — his first since July 30 and since he injured his hamstring two weeks later — downplaying obvious questions about his workload, being underappreciated, and playing in a contract year.

After a somewhat controversial offseason — at least by his standards — the 25-year-old likely just wanted to move the needle to Sunday’s opener at the Lions than listen again to the greatest hits of any possible grievances he may have after three nascent seasons in Philadelphia.

But Sanders is clearly a man with a proverbial chip on his shoulder. In May, he offered that he was taking the upcoming season “a little personal” because he was “nowhere near satisfied with how I played or my availability.”

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And then at the start of training camp, after a few reporters questioned his place in the tailback rotation, he was asked what his motivation was entering his fourth season.

“Just get the respect that I finally deserve,” he said. “That’s all.”

Sanders’ mentor believes that given the opportunity, he will deliver upon the expectations that rose after an impressive rookie season but also were there the last two seasons, despite the lack of touches and assorted injuries.

“In my opinion, he has not [reached his potential], but he will,” Craig Williams said. “Once they see Miles being Miles, it’s going to be a game changer. Unleash the beast and I promise you, there is damage he can do. … And especially when you see him out there having fun, you know it’s over.

“He’s going to give teams hell.”

Williams may be biased, of course. But there might not be another person that knows Sanders as well. He was his first coach with the Swissvale Flashes just outside Pittsburgh and became a father figure almost immediately.

And when Sanders wanted to shake up his training two offseasons ago, he called in his mentor because he trusted that he would hold him accountable. They worked out in Miami a year ago and moved to Houston this past offseason, with just Sanders often training alone and Williams supervising.

Sanders missed nine games because of injury the last two seasons. Some were of the freak variety, but if he wanted to be available for all 17 games — a goal Williams said he set this offseason — he would need to intensify his preparation for playing one of the more physically demanding positions in football.

They spent six weeks of the winter training at Rice University, six days a week, with up-tempo cardio followed by full body workouts in the gym.

“I’m going to jump on his butt,” said Williams, a former 20-year Navy man. “He knows I’m very military.”

When camp opened, Sanders looked noticeably stronger and more explosive. He didn’t log a carry in the preseason opener against the New York Jets, but he did catch two passes for 20 yards before straining his hamstring.

He missed joint practices with the Browns and Dolphins, and didn’t return to the field until last week. But he has been a full participant this week and said he’s “ready to go” for Week 1.

“Miles won’t skip a beat,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said.

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In terms of his statistics, Sanders hasn’t missed many notes. He set a franchise mark for rushing yards as a rookie (818) and caught 50 passes for 509 yards. And while his receiving numbers dropped significantly the next two seasons, he increased his yards per carry each year and ranks third among NFL running backs in yards per carry (5.08) since 2019.

Beyond the math, there was certainly room for improvement. As a rookie, he tended to bounce too many runs outside and lost yardage. In his sophomore season, a couple of untimely fumbles and drops hearkened back to his Penn State struggles with ball security.

And last season he got into coach Nick Sirianni’s doghouse when he ran out of bounds several times during the four-minute drill.

But some of the public nitpicking of Sanders has been difficult to trace. Perhaps there is a faction from fantasy football upset that he failed to score any touchdowns last season — Hurts had overtaken him as the goal-line option — or that he’s had few 100-yard games.

There have been just as many, though, who argued for more of Sanders, especially early last season when Sirianni inexplicably tilted toward the pass.

“As Coach Craig, I’m more like, ‘Man, what’s going on? Why isn’t he getting the ball?’” Williams said. “But that’s more me than it is him. I don’t really talk about that stuff with him because he doesn’t want to hear it.”

When Sirianni finally decided to favor the run against the Raiders, Sanders injured his ankle. He missed the next three games — including the blowout win over the Lions — as the Eagles became run-heavy and turned their season around.

But when he returned, Sanders went off, rushing for 454 yards in five games and averaging 6.1 yards a tote. And when he got more than 15 carries, he gained 94, 120, and 131 yards in separate games.

The Hurts threat certainly aided the run game, but Sanders averaged 3.82 yards after contact — sixth-best in the league over the span, according to Pro Football Focus.

And then he suffered yet another setback when he broke his hand in Week 16. He would miss the final two games of the season, but surgery allowed for him to return for the playoffs. Sanders gained only 16 yards on seven carries, but the Buccaneers were keyed on stopping the run.

The Eagles knew that if they wanted to not only reach the postseason this season but play deep into it, they couldn’t be a predictable run-based offense. They traded for receiver A.J. Brown, giving Hurts another weapon through the air.

How that will impact the Eagles offense remains to be seen, but with so many receiving mouths to feed, from Brown to DeVonta Smith to Dallas Goedert to Quez Watkins, not to mention on the ground with Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott, Sanders will have to remain patient.

“Whenever they want to run the ball, whenever they want to pass — whatever — it’s my job to do whatever I have to do on that play to make it successful,” Sanders said. “That’s all I’m really worried about.”

And that goes as well for a possible contract extension.

“I’m not worried about it,” Sanders said.

Williams knows better.

“It’s definitely motivation,” he said. “This is his job. This is his livelihood. This is how he makes a living, so naturally those thoughts run through his mind. But it doesn’t stop him from his goal for the team. And his goal for the team is to help them in any way that he can to get to the Super Bowl.

“Miles is a team player before he’s an individual.”

But if the Eagles are to hit their peak, it stands to reason that Sanders will have to reach his.