Sometimes when you just miss a putt you almost wish that you missed it by a mile instead so that you hadn’t gotten your hopes up. And that’s how some Eagles fans may feel about losing the Super Bowl. Luckily for them, they recently won it in 2018 and they have a young core of guys like Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, and DeVonta Smith to help them get back there. Decisions will need to be made, just like every off-season, but a lot of the Eagles’ decisions will come on the defensive side of the ball rather than the offensive side. 

With this series, we are taking a look at each NFL team to gauge the direction of the offense from a dynasty fantasy football perspective. Is this team gearing up for a Super Bowl run? Are they in the midst of a rebuild? Are they considering blowing it up? We’ll take all of that into account as well as the current contracts, upcoming free agents, and 2023 NFL draft class to give you our best recommendations on how to handle these weapons in your dynasty fantasy football leagues.

 

Recommendations Key

BUY - Attempt to acquire this player at or slightly above market value

HOLD - The player is likely more valuable than the market indicates. Hold them if you have them or try to acquire them at a discount.

SELL - The perceived value for this player is higher than the projected remaining value in your average dynasty league. Cash out now.

SELL/DROP - Depending on the depth of the league, always try to sell guys before dropping. But this player is likely not worth the bench spot he’s occupying so you might need to just drop them.  

*Contract information is proved courtesy of Spotrac.com*

Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback

Overview: 

The Eagles have one quarterback under contract for 2023

Jalen Hurts - age 24

Contract: Jalen Hurts was a second round pick in 2020 so he’s under contract for 2023 then he’s an unrestricted free agent.

Outlook: Jalen Hurts has proven that he’s a mega star in this league. And, even more importantly for us in the fantasy world, a mobile megastar. Howie Roseman agrees and he has no reservations about giving Hurts a big payday even after they regretted the payday Carson Wentz got a few years back. So it seems that it’s only a matter of time until that extension gets done. They might simply be waiting to see what happens with Lamar Jackson and his deal, as he’s a pending free agent.

Dynasty Recommendation: BUY - Typically when a player is at their peak value we designate them as a hold or even a sell since we don’t like buying guys at a premium, we like discounts. But this is a player that costs a lot in dynasty and he’s worth it. He took a huge step forward with his passing ability and he’s arguably the best running QB in the league. And, on top of that, his top three weapons are all locked up for the next few seasons already. This free agency could bring the Eagles some pain on defense but that doesn’t really matter much to us in fantasy football. In fact, sometimes a bad defense is a good thing, especially for the quarterback…

Ian Book - age 24

Contract: Ian Book was added after being released by the Saints so they aren’t tied to any guaranteed money. He can be released with no dead cap for $940K in savings. 

Outlook: It’s a bit of an indictment that the Saints released him given how unsteady their quarterback job has been. It didn’t really seem like Book was ever in that conversation either.

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL/DROP - He actually could end up having some value in superflex or two quarterback leagues if he does win the backup job for the Eagles given Jalen Hurts’s playstyle and his tendency to miss time. But our hopes aren’t super high for him to even win the backup job or be productive if called upon. So you don’t have to hold him.

Free Agents: Gardner Minshew

Free Agency/Draft Outlook:

They probably can’t afford to bring Gardner Minshew back nor will Minshew likely want to be the backup to a QB with a freshly minted long-term deal. So I’m not banking on his return. Between the heroics of Nick Foles and the injury history of Jalen Hurts, the Eagles more than anyone know the value of a backup QB so I would not be surprised to see them bring in a veteran like a Jacoby Brissett, Teddy Bridgewater, or Taylor Heinicke for the right price. Nick Foles is also expected to be cut by the Colts, for what that’s worth.

Philadelphia Eagles Running Backs

Overview: 

The Eagles have two running backs under contract and one signed to a reserves/future deal. 

Trey Sermon - age 24

 Contract: Sermon is signed through 2024. As he was claimed off waivers, he can be released for $1.1 million with zero dead cap. 

Outlook: Believe it or not, Sermon is currently the highest paid back on the team. He also only has two carries for the team. 

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL/DROP - It hurts to take a guy who had a lot of hype and drop him but, in leagues that aren’t super deep, he’s pretty droppable. The fact that he had a wide open path to start for the 49ers and ended up getting flat our released is a killer for his dynasty value as it’s pretty difficult to bounce back from. You need to be pretty bad for a team to give up on you as a fourth round pick after one year. I’d at least hold him to see what happens in free agency but you can probably drop him the moment they sign or draft someone. 

Kenneth Gainwell - age 23

Contract: Kenneth Gainwell is under contract through 2024. 

Outlook: In the modern NFL, most backfields are split. The question then boils down to how that split works. The position is divided up into different “moments” (e.g. short yardage, pass downs, eating clock, two-minute drill etc). If a player has the skill set to capture enough of those roles, they are fantasy relevant. And Gainwell has flashed the skill set to do that. 

Dynasty Recommendation: HOLD - Alvin Kamara has never had a 1,000-yard rushing season. Neither has Austin Ekeler. Christian McCaffrey hasn’t had one in four years. As we alluded to above, it’s all about carving the right roles. Kenneth Gainwell has proven that he’s explosive in space and he’s shown he has pass-catching chops. He reminds us a lot of what we saw early from Tony Pollard. Now we just need him to solidify himself in pass protection so that the third down role can be his alone. The reason he is a “hold” and not a “buy” for us though is that he likely won't hit his peak playing for the Eagles. And the main issue is laid out in this article by Andrew Erickson which point out that mobile quarterbacks tend to targe the running back less often. Despite having Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell, the Eagles were dead last in running back target percentage. We don't love that.

FREE AGENTS: Miles Sanders, Boston Scott

RESERVE/FUTURE: Kennedy Brooks

Free Agency/Draft Outlook:

We’ll dig deeper into Miles Sanders and Boston Scott when we do our write-up on the unrestricted free agent running backs but the feeling right now is that Sanders won’t be back. Boston Scott on the other hand isn’t out of the question. The real question here is whether they bring in a full-time back or whether they go with a committee of a bruiser plus Kenneth Gainwell. Given the redzone nose that Jalen Hurts has (second most carries of any player inside the five yard line this season behind only Jamaal Williams), I personally wouldn’t spend too much on a feature running back. A combo of Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell or maybe someone like Damien Harris with Kenneth Gainwell would get the job done. I wouldn’t be super interested in the short yardage back for fantasy but Gainwell would still interest us. 

Philadelphia Eagles Wide Receivers

Overview: 

The Eagles have three wide receivers under contract for 2023 with four signed to reserve/future deals.

AJ Brown - age 25

Contract: After trading for him, the Eagles signed AJ Brown to an extension that keeps him through 2026.

Outlook: The success teams like the Bills, Dolphins, and Eagles have had trading for Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill, and AJ Brown has to have teams looking into how they can pull off something similar. AJ Brown has been worth every penny and he’s really bought in, saying recently they should pay Jalen Hurts or “ship him off wherever he goes”. That’s not quite how things work but you have to love his enthusiasm.  

Dynasty Recommendation: BUY - This is exactly the situation we look for in dynasty. Young player. Highly consolidated snaps. Highly consolidated targets. Great QB. Explosive offense. The only problem is the price - you are giving up an early first round pick PLUS more for a guy like this if you go off some of the trade charts that try to visualize market values like Alex Korff’s (PeakInHighSkool to the Redditors). But he truly is in the class with guys like Ja’Marr Chase and, very shortly once they extend Jalen Hurts, he will be tied to a young QB for many years - just like Ja’Marr Chase.  

DeVonta Smith - age 24

Contract: DeVonta Smith is under contract through 2024 and, because he was a first round pick, they can pick up his fifth year option for 2025 as well. 

Outlook: The former Heisman winner is progressing exactly how you might hope - 916 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie then 1,196 yards and seven as a sophomore. Like AJ Brown, he too will soon be tied to Jalen Hurts for the foreseeable future and he’s a guy that should be in your lineup every week for years to come. 

Dynasty Recommendation: BUY - The best window to buy him was probably last off-season after the AJ Brown trade but the stigma of being the “WR2” on his own team is still keeping his price reasonable. We’ve seen this a million times - guys like Emmanuel Sanders, Chris Godwin, or Tyler Lockett can be had for a discount because they happen to play with Demaryius Thomas, Mike Evans, or DK Metcalf. It’s the oldest trick in the fantasy trick book and a big part of that is because people will still think “WR2” even though DeVonta Smith finished as a WR1 in fantasy last year. If the targets are highly consolidated then I really don’t care - I’ll take Tee Higgins, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith etc. all day long and twice on Sundays. 

Quez Watkins - age 24

Contract: Quez Watkins is under contract through 2023.

Outlook: Quez Watkins carved himself out a role as the slot WR for this team and was the third WR on the team in targets, yards, and touchdowns. 

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL/DROP - There is a misconception about “slot WRs”. Guys who play slot can be good in fantasy but you don’t want pure slot guys. You want guys who play slot in 3 WR sets but move to flanker for 2 WR sets like Cooper Kupp or Keenan Allen. That isn’t Quez Watkins and it won’t be on this team with these WRs. So, in dynasty, you are hoping he leaves in free agency and some other team views him as an every-down guy. I just don’t see it so I’m selling if anyone is buying. 

RESERVE/FUTURE: Greg Ward, Tyrie Cleveland, Devon Allen, Britain Covey

FREE AGENTS: Zach Pascal

Free Agency/Draft Outlook:

As we laid out in the Quez Watkins section above, there really is no room for another fantasy-relevant wide receiver on this team outside of the top two guys. The last QB to support three fantasy-relevant wide receivers AND a tight end was 2013 Peyton Manning and he threw 55 touchdown passes that year. If that happens, it won’t matter who has Quez Watkins because the guy with Jalen Hurts will have already won the league by a mile. This team will obviously need to fill out the roster with some depth guys but don’t expect anyone to really break out here unless one of AJ Brown or DeVonta Smith gets hurt. And even then they would be battling with Dallas Goedert.

Philadelphia Eagles Tight Ends

Overview: 

The Eagles have three tight ends under contract and one signed to a reserve/future contract.

Dallas Goedert - age 28

 Contract: Dallas Goedert is under contract through 2025.

Outlook: The Dallas Goedert story has been a brutal one for fantasy gamers. The talent has always been there but he started out stuck behind Zach Ertz. Goedert has always been the better blocker so Ertz ran from the slot. They traded Ertz away in 2021 so we got a brief glimpse of Goedert as a top two target on the team but then they turn around and trade for AJ Brown. He even held his own in 2022 despite the target competition but then, of course, he gets hurt. He then returned at the end of the season to face the top defenses in the league against the tight end. Classic.

Dynasty Recommendation: HOLD/SELL - We always preach the SORT method with tight ends. Start Opportunity, Roster Talent. Goedert has always had the talent but never quite the opportunity we want. So here’s how you handle him. If you are competing now and he’s the best tight end on your roster, you likely just hold and start him. I would still try to upgrade to a guy who is a top two target on his team if possible though. If you aren’t competing now, Goedert really doesn’t have the upside some of these other players do because they have so much target competition and he’s already 28. He, Brown, and Smith are all under contract through at least 2025 so he’s not really in a position to lead a team in targets (or even be second) until he’s 30+ years old. So he’s probably never really going to have that chance to have a Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews-type season unless someone gets hurt.

Grant Calcaterra - age 24

Contract: Grant Calcaterra is under contract through 2025

Outlook: With Dallas Goedert missing a big stretch of games, Grant Calcaterra had a golden opportunity to show us what he’s got. But he didn’t quite take advantage. 

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL/DROP - The truth is that only a guy of Dallas Goedert’s talent level even remotely has a chance to compete with DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown for targets. So you don’t need to hold Calacaterra even as a handcuff. 

Jack Stoll - age 25

Contract: Stoll is under contract through 2023 then he’s a restricted free agent in 2024.

Outlook: Stoll is a blocking tight end 

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL/DROP - You don’t need to roster blocking tight ends like this in even the deepest formats as there is always going to be someone else that skews passing.

Free Agents: Tyree Jackson

Free Agency/Draft Outlook:

The Eagles don’t even need to add anyone in free agency really. If Goedert goes down, they just split the job between Calcaterra (pass skewing) and Jack Stoll (blocking). Any additions they make this offseason will likely be guys that also serve a purpose on special teams. 

Follow Andrew Cooper on Twitter @CoopAFiasco for more NFL and fantasy football insights and stay tuned as we hit on all 32 NFL teams in this series leading into NFL free agency!

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