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PHILADELPHIA — Miles Sanders' path to becoming the second-round pick of the Eagles wasn't an easy one.
But it helps explain why the Eagles expect Sanders to fit in so well at running back. The Eagles drafted Sanders, from Penn State, in the second round, 53rd overall, on Friday night. They took Stanford wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside four picks later.
NFL draft, second round: Eagles pick Miles Sanders, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
The Eagles added another Penn State standout on Saturday in defensive end Shareef Miller with their fourth-round pick, No. 138 overall. The Eagles then traded their fifth-round pick, No. 163, to New England to pick four spots later. The Eagles also got a seventh-round pick, No. 246 overall, in return.
They traded that seventh-round pick to the Colts for defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway, a fourth round pick in 2016, who played in only five games last season. He has 4.5 sacks in three seasons.
In the fifth round, the Eagles took Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson. It is worth wondering if the Eagles wanted to get Easton Stick, the quarterback at North Dakota State who took over for Carson Wentz and led the Bison to two FCS championships.
The Chargers took Stick one pick before the Eagles. Had the Eagles not made the trade, they could have had their choice.
As a senior, Thorson, who's 6-foot-4, 222 pounds, completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 3,183 yards and 17 touchdowns. But Thorson also finished with the second-most interceptions among FBS quarterbacks with 15.
Thorson's father, Chad, was a linebacker for the Eagles during training camp in 1991.
"I think he was there with Reggie White," Thorson said. "He really enjoyed his time there. He wasn’t there for long, but he enjoyed it."
Miller, who's 6-4, 254 pounds, grew up in Philadelphia. Miller had 7.5 sacks at Penn State last season. He will join a rotation at defensive end that includes veterans Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry and young players Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat.
Sanders, meanwhile, said Saturday he was grateful to be picked so early. After all, he rarely played at Penn State until last season because he was behind a pretty good running back in Saquon Barkley, who was the No. 2 overall pick last year by the Giants and the NFL's offensive rookie of the year in 2018.
Yet Sanders said he never considered transferring, and he never pouted.
University of Delaware's Nasir Adderley drafted by Chargers in second round
"I gained a lot of patience," Sanders said. "I got more mature. Started focusing on the little things more. Got bigger, stronger, faster. Got more deep into the playbook. Just prepare myself and make myself feel comfortable for when I finally get my chance to get into the game."
Sanders took advantage, gaining 1,274 yards last season and averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Sanders had 56 carries for 375 yards combined his first two seasons.
The Eagles were convinced, however, taking him in the exact same slot at No. 53 that LeSean McCoy was selected back in 2009. McCoy is the Eagles' all-time leading rusher.
And Sanders was a big fan, growing up in Pittsburgh, a few hours from McCoy's hometown of Harrisburg.
"He’s pretty local," Sanders said. "I heard about him when he came up in high school. Broke a lot of records at his high school, too. I know a lot about his game. He’s still doing well in the league. Just a type of player you see as a real vet, someone you can look up to and get advice. … That’s the type of career that I would like to follow."
NFL draft: Eagles trade up, snag Jason Peters' replacement at left tackle
Arcega-Whiteside also grew up emulating an Eagles player. He's from South Carolina, where current Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery grew up and starred in college.
"That's a guy that everybody in the state knew," Arcega-Whiteside said. "As a kid, it's like, 'Dang, I want to be him one day.'"
That remains to be seen. But Arcega-Whiteside also has connections to another influential person in former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, a Stanford distinguished professor, whom Arcega-Whiteside worked for last summer.
"I like to say I was her first body of defense," he said with a laugh. "Anybody who wanted to contact her, meet with her they had to go through me first, which was cool because I got to meet some extraordinary people from around the world."
When asked to elaborate, he replied: "I don't know how confidential they want me to keep that. I'll just say I met some ambassadors, Russian ambassador, Chinese ambassadors."
Sanders said he won't have trouble fitting into a rotation that currently includes Jordan Howard, whom the Eagles traded for earlier this month, plus returnees Wendell Smallwood, Corey Clement and Josh Adams.
He learned that mostly at Penn State. Sanders said his games mostly came in practice, competing against Barkley.
"In practice, every day, I’m getting better, trying to prove myself to get on the field," he said. "(Barkley) is always trying to make sure he doesn’t lose the job. It’s just like that ... We worked together to make each other better.
"I’m not a selfish player. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win."
Arcega-Whiteside said the same thing about the Eagles' wide receivers. In addition to knowing Jeffery, he also knows tight end Zach Ertz, a Stanford alum. Arcega-Whiteside shares a trainer with Nelson Agholor and an agent with Mack Hollins.
"Everyone in that receiver room is great," Arcega-Whiteside said. "I'm very comfortable with coming into the meeting room knowing some guys already."
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
NFL DRAFT 2019 TRACKERS:
Pick-by-pick analysis of every selection in Round 1
Pick-by-pick analysis of every selection in Rounds 2 and 3
Pick-by-pick list of every selection in Rounds 4, 5, 6 and 7
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