There are two ways to play fantasy football. You can play it safe, or you can swing for the fences. It’s always risky to chase outliers, but outliers are how we separate from our competitors.
With that in mind, we’re going through bold fantasy takes for every NFL team, with this installment looking at the Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia Eagles Bold Fantasy Prediction: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith Both Finish as WR1s
Is this bold enough? Eh, let’s roll with it. Yes, DeVonta Smith did average 15.0 fantasy points per game in 2022, putting him perilously close to WR1 territory. But he didn’t get there! Meanwhile, A.J. Brown has finished as the overall WR8 in each of the past two seasons.
I guess this looks bolder when you consider that Smith was merely the overall WR20 last season.
Also, how many people think Jalen Hurts can support two fantasy WR1s, especially in light of how he performed as a passer last season? Smith’s ADP certainly doesn’t think so, as he is going around WR22.
It could happen, though. The Eagles coaching staff is well aware that their offense did not perform up to standards over the second half of last season. To help remedy that, they brought in former Cowboys and Chargers coordinator Kellen Moore.
Look for Moore to utilize more pre-snap motion and put both Brown and Smith in advantageous positions as frequently as possible. He is going to make it easy for Hurts to find Philadelphia’s top two pass catchers, propelling both to WR1 seasons.
A.J. Brown Fantasy Profile
Last season, despite a “disappointing” seven touchdowns (Brown scored 11 times on 18 fewer catches in his first season with the Eagles), he saw 2.5 times as many red-zone targets as DeVonta Smith.
Since joining Philadelphia, Brown has yet to miss a game, and while the nature of the Eagles’ offense has the potential to lead to some down weeks, let’s not forget that it was less than a year ago that he broke Calvin Johnson’s record for consecutive games with 125+ receiving yards.
The reward for the season as a whole outweighs the weekly risk when it comes to the Eagles’ WR1 — and it’s not close.
Check out Pro Football Network’s full fantasy football profile of A.J. Brown right here.
DeVonta Smith Fantasy Profile
Targets are earned. From that perspective, we can blame Smith for his own shortcomings, but it would be unfair to paint him as the sole culprit. There are two other entities to blame.
First, Jalen Hurts regressed as a passer. Second, the coaching staff struggled to properly adjust to what defenses were doing, resulting in the Eagles scoring 11 fewer offensive touchdowns last year.
After sputtering to an unceremonious finish, the Eagles engaged in some serious introspection. They brought Kellen Moore in as offensive coordinator and committed to righting the ship.
The only other meaningful change the Eagles made on the offensive side of the ball was signing Saquon Barkley.
While Barkley provides a significant upgrade on D’Andre Swift, he doesn’t provide added target competition. This offense will once again run through A.J. Brown, Smith, and Dallas Goedert.
Check out Pro Football Network’s full fantasy football profile of DeVonta Smith right here.