2016 Eagles Fantasy Football Preview

While the Philadelphia Eagles bring a lot of hope to Philadelphia natives, and often a lot of disappointment, they matter in the grand scheme of the NFL largely due to the rise of fantasy football. Last year under Chip Kelly, their players were highly projected and sought after, this year the story has changed. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to dump the Eagles out of lineups.

Quarterback:

Sam Bradford:

The story here is the same as last year. Bradford has a lot of potential, but the idea that he will actually reach is ceiling has been tossed out the window in recent years. This year he switches from the high volume Chip Kelly attack offense to a run-first Doug Pederson offense. This may not be as bad as you think and he could be serviceable in deeper leagues.

The issue with drafting Sam Bradford is how deep quarterback is this year. There are so many quarterback ranked ahead of him that all have a chance to drop really nice points that it isn’t even worth it to take a gamble on him anymore.

Projection: Waiver Wire Player to Watch

Running Back:

Ryan Mathews:

Now we are getting somewhere. Ryan Mathews + Doug Pederson = Fantasy Gold. Mathews has the talent and the volume coming his way to be a sleeper running back one. However, then there are those pesky injuries. In his career Ryan Mathews has only played all sixteen games once.

However, even with the injuries when you draft Ryan Mathews you are getting the clear number one running back on a run first team in a relatively weak defensive division.

Projection: High End RB2

Darren Sproles:

Darren Sproles as the primary backup has seen some success in his time in Philadelphia. However, he isn’t getting any younger and it has yet to be seen what kind of role he will carve out for himself in the Doug Pederson offense.

Projection: RB6 (Waiver Wire)

Wendell Smallwood (R):

Smallwood is much more interesting to talk about. While Darren Sproles is set to get the second most carries, he is not an every down back. What this means is that if and when Ryan Mathews gets hurt, Wendell Smallwood should be looked at for the bulk of the carries and if he has the ability to translate college success to the NFL then he could be a hidden gem.

Projection: RB5, Ryan Mathews Handcuff

Wide Receivers:

Jordan Matthews:

Matthews was one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy football last year. He was supposed to be the fantasy star that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin was the year before, but failed miserably to step into his shoes. His drops and lack of overall production were worrisome and the news coming out of camp doesn’t excite me any more.

All of that being said he is still the number one wide receiver on this team and is worth a look in all fantasy formats.

Projection: Low End WR3

Rueben Randle:

Randle intrigues me a lot more than Matthews does because I feel like they are similar talents with the exception that Randle has more to prove and more experience working outside where they both will play this year.

I believe that if he can grow chemistry with Sam Bradford, he has the raw talent to supplant Matthews as the number one receiver. I nice bonus will be those revenge games against the New York Giants.

Projection: High End WR6

Nelson Agholor:

Perhaps the biggest mystery on the Eagles roster is the sophomore out of USC. Agholor was a questionable pick by Chip Kelly on draft day last year, but the comps to Jeremy Maclin made him an exciting fantasy sleeper.

He was terrible, and then he was injured, and then he was terrible again. Now there is off the field problems that while very likely are false accusations, are still worrisome. Things are trending down for this once bright star.

Projection: Don’t Bother

Tight End:

Zach Ertz:

Every year we hear that this will be the year that Zach Ertz breaks out. Ertz is a very talented tight end that in a different offense might be a star. However, his inconsistency both in usage and performance make him unreliable to say the least.

If we look at what Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has done under Doug Pederson in the past we see a tight end with solid production, but nothing that overwhelms you. I’d look at Kelce’s low end TE1 status as a ceiling for Ertz at this point in time.

Projection: Low End TE2

Defense:

This is another interesting position. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has turned every defense he’s touched to gold and I expect the same for the Eagles. If you look at their personnel this could be one of the easier fixes Schwartz has had to make.

I say after the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers and maybe the New York Jets you get to the point where the Eagles are a very interesting choice for your fantasy defense.

If you are in an IDP (Individual Defensive Player) league, the names to watch are defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, defensive ends Vinny Curry and Connor Barwin, linebackers Mychal Kendricks and Jordan Hicks, and a sleeper pick of Brandon Graham who I expect to thrive in this defense and become a starter by the end of the season.

Next: Sam Bradford and the other quarterbacks will work out together before training camp