Next in our team previews is the 2020 Fantasy Football Philadelphia Eagles Preview.
The Eagles 2019 season was a bit of a roller coaster. They were sitting at 5-7 before rattling off four straight wins over division rivals to make the playoffs.
Carson Wentz’s first playoff appearance didn’t last long as he was knocked out of the game with a head injury in the first quarter and the Eagles subsequently fell to the Seahawks 17-9.
The Eagles made some big acquisitions in cornerback Darius Slay, and wide receivers Jalen Reagor and Marquise Goodwin. However, they also lost safety Malcolm Jenkins to the Saints and their potential hall of fame left tackle Jason Peters remains a free agent.
Update: Eagles' right guard Brandon Brooks has torn his Achilles and will miss the entire 2020 season. This is a big blow as Brooks was PFF's fifth-best player at any position last year. Expect a slight decrease in Miles Sanders' fantasy value.
2020 Fantasy Football Philadelphia Eagles Preview
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Quarterbacks
Most pass attempts to TEs last season
1. Carson Wentz - 214
2. Lamar Jackson - 164
3. Derek Carr - 154
4. Jared Goff - 146 pic.twitter.com/CRmRSIQr3K— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) June 1, 2020
- Carson Wentz
- Nate Sudfeld
- Jalen Hurts
Despite having one of the worst wide receiver groups in the NFL last season Carson Wentz managed to put up over 4000 yards and 27 TDs, making him the QB9 on the year. Unfortunately for Wentz and Eagles fans, this was also the third straight year that Wentz finished the season injured.
There has been speculation that this injury history is what led the Eagles to take Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts in the second round. For now, Hurts remains behind Nate Sudfeld until he learns the offense.
The injury history and arrival of Hurts don’t scare me off Wentz, I think he is a very talented quarterback, but I am concerned that his weapons have not improved enough to give him an elite ceiling. He should be a serviceable QB1 this season.
Running Backs
From Weeks 9-16, Miles Sanders scored more fantasy points than:
Aaron Jones
Alvin Kamara
Joe Mixon
Nick Chubb pic.twitter.com/KKwumxx8BW— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) April 15, 2020
- Miles Sanders
- Boston Scott
- Corey Clement
Doug Pederson has historically preferred a running back by committee approach, but things might be about to change. The Eagles have been looking to add a veteran running back like LeSean McCoy or Devonta Freeman, but for now, it looks as though Miles Sanders is locked into a big role.
Sanders was RB15 on the year, but once Jordan Howard went down Sanders exploded to the tune of RB7 over the final seven weeks of the season. Fantasy owners definitely took notice of Sanders break-out as he is currently going as the 11th RB off the board in fantasy drafts.
Boston Scott averaged 87.5 scrimmage yards per game over the last four games of the season and will likely eat into Sanders receiving work, but he isn’t a huge threat to Sanders’ overall workload.
I think Sanders has what it takes to expand on his great performance last year and return value on his RB1 price-tag but he is not without risk. You can see this risk baked into some of our staff rankings. Some have him outside the top-12 some just inside.
Wide Receivers
There are deep threats, and then there is DeSean Jackson 💨 pic.twitter.com/p1w3dK3hFc
— PFF (@PFF) May 22, 2020
- Alshon Jeffery
- DeSean Jackson
- Jalen Reagor
- Marquise Goodwin
- Greg Ward Jr.
- J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
Last year Eagles’ WRs ranked next-to-last in yards per game and yards per reception, and dead last in yards per target according to The Athletic's Sheil Kapadia. Simply put, this wide receiver room is a mess, but they have potential.
Alshon Jeffery is over 30 years old and missed six games last season with a Lisfranc injury. There is speculation that he will begin the 2020 season on the PUP list. One study from the American Journal of Sports Medicine looked at Lisfranc injuries in NFL players and determined that “athletes returned to competition at a median of 11.1 months from time of injury”. Jeffrey’s injury occurred on December 9th 2019, which would put his likely return time around mid-November.
Despite his age (33) Desean Jackson has proven valuable, but he, like Jeffery, must prove he can stay on the field as he has been injured more often than not recently.
First-round pick Jalen Reagor could start Week 1 if Alshon isn’t ready. He is explosive with the ball in his hands but rookie WR’s rarely pan out in year one. He is worth a dart throw in the later rounds of your fantasy draft given the immense opportunity available to him.
Goodwin, Ward Jr., and Arcega-Whiteside fill out the rest of the wide receiver room and are not worth drafting in standard-sized leagues with the number of targets that will be leftover.
Tight Ends
Best TD rate on end-zone targets last season (TEs)
1. Dallas Goedert - 83%
1. Darren Fells - 83%
3. Kyle Rudolph - 57%
4. Mark Andrews - 55%
4. Jared Cook - 55% pic.twitter.com/o3BBJhlY5F— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) June 9, 2020
Did you know the Eagles ran 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) a league-high 52% of the time? The league average was 20%. Having one of the best tight end duos in all of football helps compensate for poor wide receiver play.
Zach Ertz finished as the TE5 last year and is currently being taken as the TE3 in fantasy drafts. He is certainly one of the top options at tight end but his upside is capped with the emergence of Dallas Goedert and the additions at wide receiver. He is solid year after year, but I wouldn’t take him in the first three rounds of your fantasy draft.
Dallas Goedert finished as the TE10 last year even with Ertz in front of him, but the new weapons hurt him as well. It is very difficult to carry a backup TE on your fantasy team but If anything were to happen to Ertz, Goedert would present league winning upside.
Final Verdict
Doug Pederson is a creative head coach and I like that they added speed on both sides of the ball. I expect good things from this team, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the NFC East title once again comes down to a late-season matchup with Dallas Cowboys.
That concludes the 2020 fantasy football Philadelphia Eagles team preview, next up is the Washington Redskins.
Check out the rest of our offseason Fantasy Football content from our great team of writers.
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