What It Means:

Miles Sanders is still expected to be the Eagles' top back on the depth chart, but Gainwell will be a valuable fantasy asset if he is given the pass-catching and goal-line work. Last season, Gainwell led the Eagles' backfield with 50 targets and he averaged 1.39 yards per route run, compared to Sanders' 0.81 yards per route run. He was only fourth on the team in carries (68), but Jordan Howard's departure frees up 86 rush attempts that will mostly be left to Gainwell, Sanders, and Boston Scott.

Gainwell is currently the RB48 for standard leagues and the RB52 for PPR leagues in numberFire's preseason rankings. Our models' projection consists of 102.3 carries, 433.8 rushing yards, 13.2 receptions (18.9 targets), 89.9 receiving yards, and 4.54 combined touchdowns. Sanders is currently projected for 43.1 targets, so Gainwell will jump up the rankings if he emerges as the Eagles' preferred pass-catching back.