The Jacksonville Jaguars will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE Evan Engram.
Is Evan Engram Playing in Week 9?
Engram is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Jaguars’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Evan Engram in Week 9?
How good has Engram been since returning? I’m glad you asked.
In his last three games, he’s averaging 13.4 PPR points per game with a 5.5-yard aDOT and a 25% on-field target share. During his nearly record-breaking 2023 campaign, he averaged 13.6 PPR points per game with a 5.0-yard aDOT and a 23.4% on-field target share.
He’s been an elite option, and Trevor Lawrence’s confidence in his tight end was never more clear than late last week, as he lobbed a ball up in triple coverage to Engram with under two minutes left in a one-score game.
Touchdown.
The volume is going to be as good as any player at the position, though I do worry about efficiency moving forward given the number of injuries in the passing game around him. The Eagles own the fourth-lowest opponent passer rating this season when targeting tight ends, and that makes this a difficult matchup, though the sheer number of projectable opportunities is too much to ignore.
If you’re fading Engram, it’s in DFS and not in any sort of season-long format.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Evan Engram’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Engram is projected to score 14.7 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 6.8 receptions for 63.8 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Philadelphia Eagles Defense
The Philadelphia Eagles’ numbers on defense this year have had a little bit of the “all or nothing” feel about them. If they have not been a top-10 unit, they have been a below-average unit. That pattern continued on Sunday, as they ranked 19th in Week 8 against the Bengals. However, they still held their opponent to 17 points, despite tying for their worst red-zone efficiency of the season.
The Eagles have been good inside the red zone this season, allowing touchdowns on just 42.9% of trips, which has helped them rank eighth in points per drive. Their biggest flaw has been their turnover percentage, which is the sixth worst in the league at 5.6%, and is the only one of the meaningful stats that ranks outside the top 20. Helping the Eagles is the fact their 58.7 defensive plays per game is the seventh lowest in the league this season.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Evan Engram’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 3:45 AM ET on Wednesday, December 25. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 TE PPR Rankings
1) Brock Bowers | LV (at NO)
2) Trey McBride | ARI (at LAR)
3) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at CLE)
4) George Kittle | SF (vs. DET)
5) Sam LaPorta | DET (at SF)
6) David Njoku | CLE (vs. MIA)
7) Mark Andrews | BAL (at HOU)
8) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs. GB)
9) Travis Kelce | KC (at PIT)
10) Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs. BAL)
11) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. KC)
12) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at JAX)
14) Tucker Kraft | GB (at MIN)
15) Brenton Strange | JAX (vs. TEN)
16) Jake Ferguson | DAL (at PHI)
17) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. LAC)
18) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. LV)
19) Stone Smartt | LAC (at NE)
20) Zach Ertz | WAS (vs. ATL)
21) Kyle Pitts | ATL (at WAS)
22) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. DEN)
23) Cade Otton | TB (vs. CAR)
24) Noah Gray | KC (at PIT)
25) Isaiah Likely | BAL (at HOU)
26) Cole Kmet | CHI (vs. SEA)
27) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. LAC)
28) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. DAL)
29) Noah Fant | SEA (at CHI)
30) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (at TB)
31) Foster Moreau | NO (vs. LV)
32) Tyler Higbee | LAR (vs. ARI)
33) Michael Mayer | LV (at NO)
34) Tommy Tremble | CAR (at TB)
35) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (vs. IND)
36) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. NYJ)
37) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (at BUF)
38) Payne Durham | TB (vs. CAR)
39) Jordan Akins | CLE (vs. MIA)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles Insights
Jacksonville Jaguars
Team: After winning seven of eight games in the middle of last season, Jacksonville is 3-11 in the 14 games since
QB: Trevor Lawrence’s yards per pressured pass attempt are down 26.6% from a season ago.
Offense: The Jags have won the time of possession battle just once (Week 7 vs. Patriots). Last week was the fourth time they failed to have the ball for even 27 minutes this season.
Defense: Last week, Jacksonville held the Packers out of the end zone on four red zone trips (66.7%, their rate in Weeks 1-7: 21.7%).
Fantasy: Tank Bigsby has looked explosive at times, but he needs help – in three of his past four games, he’s averaged less than two feet per carry before contact.
Betting: The Jags are just 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games, and each of their past four failures to cover came by at least 11.5 points.
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: No offensive line allows pressure more often when not blitzed than the Eagles (44.1%, league average: 31.6%).
QB: The Eagles have won three straight games – in those games, Jalen Hurts has -2 red zone passing yards.
Offense: From 2022-23, only the Cowboys, Chiefs, and 49ers scored more first-quarter points than the Eagles. This season, Philadelphia has yet to score in the first 15 minutes. If you’re curious, their lowest-scoring season for first-quarter points over the past 20 years came in 2012 (31 points).
Defense: The Eagles hadn’t allowed an opponent to convert over 46.2% of their third downs through seven weeks. In Week 8, the Bengals went 10-of-13 (76.9%), though part of that can be attributed to a one-sided game (20-point win).
Fantasy: Jalen Hurts had his 13th game with multiple rushing touchdowns since 2021, the most in the league (Derrick Henry ranks second with 11 and James Conner third with seven over that stretch).
Betting: After Halloween, since 2020, the Eagles are 12-8-1 ATS (60%) at home and 4-16 ATS (20%) on the road. They head on the road for three of their next four after this game.