News surfaced Sunday morning that the illness that Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has been battling this week worsened overnight, and he is now considered questionable for Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks. How should fantasy football managers be reacting to this concerning development?
Fantasy Fallout of Jalen Hurts’ Illness Update
A.J. Brown
For the season, A.J. Brown averages over 10 targets per game and has caught a team-high seven touchdown passes through 14 weeks, resulting in fantasy managers penciling him in as a clear-cut WR1.
His physical tools remain, but the target count and scoring equity both take a hit should Marcus Mariota be tomorrow night’s starter. While you would be wise to manage expectations should this be the case, there is nothing actionable to do — you’re playing Brown and not getting cute.
DeVonta Smith
DeVonta Smith’s volume has been trending in the right direction of late, as he has seen at least eight targets in four straight games. That momentum, however, would figure to take a hit should Hurts sit out.
The range of outcomes for Smith this season has been a worry — four finishes outside of the top 40 is unacceptable for a player we view as a strong WR2 on a weekly basis when health hasn’t been a concern.
If it is Mariota under center, Smith would profile as a low-end WR2, roughly a seven-spot drop in my positional ranks.
This offense can move the ball, but I worry about the splash plays (Smith has a 29+ yard catch in five of his past six) and the scoring that has driven his value of late (TD in four of his past six games) drying up because Philadelphia would move the ball in a less efficient manner.
If you have Smith on your roster, put him in the Flex and buying myself as much time as possible.
This means checking back in near the end of the 1 p.m. EST games and seeing how much risk you can absorb.
Eagles are downgrading QB Jalen Hurts to questionable for Monday night’s game in Seattle after his sickness worsened overnight, per a source.
Hurts still is harboring hopes of playing Monday night, and is traveling to Seattle separately from the team so as to try not get anyone… pic.twitter.com/fdtOTgRWUR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 17, 2023
If you’re in a great spot, I wouldn’t mind playing Zay Flowers or Zay Jones in the Sunday night game over Smith, thus assuring yourself a WR that at least has an NFL-level passer responsible for getting him the ball.
If you have Jaxon Smith-Njigba on your bench, you have until tomorrow to decide, and that’s the ideal situation!
Dallas Goedert
While a shift to Mariota would hurt Dallas Goedert’s target value, I’m not sure I’d regress his projection in a meaningful way.
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Goedert’s role closer to the line of scrimmage is appealing to a QB like Mariota, and he passed all physical tests last week in his return to action. Much like Brown, I wouldn’t make any seeping lineup changes in this instance — if you were playing Goedert before this Hurts news, you still are.
D’Andre Swift
This news might actually help D’Andre Swift’s value, so I’d keep him in your lineup no matter the end result.
With Mariota more likely to checkdown than Hurts, Swift could see his role in the passing game recover and thus stabilize his value.
While Mariota is also a threat with his legs, he doesn’t profile as a TD vulture the way Hurts does, so a change under center would put a little more touchdown equity on Swift’s plate.
Marcus Mariota
If you were relying on Hurts this week, adding Mariota on the waiver wire may not be a bad idea as insurance. The Eagles’ backup QB is unlikely to set any records but he could be a solid fill-in for Hurts. Most importantly, Mariota is mobile enough to have value in this offense.
Mariota has had 17 rushing touchdowns and 2,018 rushing yards in his career. Last year he set a career-high for rushing yards in just 13 games and was on pace to match or set a career-high in rushing touchdowns. Even into his early 30s, Mariota is mobile enough to supplement what he can do with his arm.
You wouldn’t ideally be looking to start Mariota this week, but in a pinch, he could get you double-digit fantasy points in Hurts’ absence.
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