The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Green Bay Packers on Wild Card Weekend. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Eagles skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Are you looking for advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Wild Card Weekend Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Jalen Hurts, QB
Jalen Hurts (and the coaching staff) is trusting his reads longer, a continued trend from the past few seasons. His quick pass rate in 2022 was 69.8% — it dipped to 61.7% in 2023 and finished this year at 57.3%. This is allowing his talented teammates to work downfield; against a Packers secondary with question marks, that fuels considerable upside.
Week 1 was forever ago, but we had a healthy version of this Eagles team. That seems to be the case here (assuming that Hurts is cleared of any concussion-related restrictions). In that win, Hurts was locked onto A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith (62.1% of targets, 60% of completions, and 73% of pass yards).
- Over 30 rushing yards in four of five career playoff games
- Rushing TD or a dozen rush attempts in 13 of 14 healthy games this regular season
The rushing upside speaks for itself, and if he is going to rely heavily on his most talented teammates, Hurts has every chance to be the leading scoring player in this round. He won’t be a unique play, but with three other athletic quarterbacks on the slate, I don’t expect any singular QB to be too popular.
Saquon Barkley, RB
Saquon Barkley is my top-ranked fantasy RB this week. Saquon Barkley is the most expensive running back on the slate. Saquon Barkley has been the best running back in the NFL this season (league-high 10 top-10 finishes).
With enough in terms of value in the WR pool, I think you can make a Barkley lineup work without having to get too crazy. Personally, I’m not.
That’s nothing really against Barkley as much as it is my preference for spending up elsewhere and living in the middle tier at running back. This Packers defense is viable, and while I don’t think they stop the All-Pro, slowing him down is all it takes given the expensive price tag.
Green Bay owns the best run defense among playoff teams in terms of running back yards gained before contact per carry this season, and they did hold Barkley to 5+ yards on just 33.3% of his carries back in Week 1, the fifth-best defensive showing against him this season.
With Jaire Alexander out, the Eagles may pick on this secondary instead of running into their solid front. Even if that’s the case, Barkley could produce enough down the stretch to pay off his price tag — heck, even with limited efficiency in his team debut, he racked up 33.2 PPR points against this defense the first time around.
A.J. Brown, WR
A.J. Brown is dealing with a bit of a lingering knee issue, though reports have yet to label it as anything serious. Given that Week 18 meant nothing for the Eagles, I’m not reading into his inactive status as anything more than management and fully expect him to suit up as Philadelphia looks to make a run.
His counting numbers are essentially in line with what we’ve come to expect (80-90 yards per game with a score every other game) and the big plays continue to be there (40+ yard grab in five of his 13 games). The consistent volume and downfield usage propelled him to a career-best 3.0 yards per route this season, something that was made possible thanks to a 5-119-1 stat line in Brazil against these Packers to open the season (34.5% target share).
With Jaire Alexander on the shelf, this Green Bay defense features moving pieces that aren’t exactly well-equipped to deal with a versatile offense like what Philadelphia brings to the table. Sam Darnold carving them up in Week 17 was one thing, but Caleb Williams having no issue in force-feeding his top threat the ball last weekend (DJ Moore caught nine of 10 targets for 86 yards and a score) is another.
The Packers are a popular upset pick for this round and in the NFC playoff picture as a whole. I don’t see it. If you’re of that belief, you avoid a player like Brown, but with that thought lingering, the odds of you getting an alpha receiver on the team with the second-best odds to represent the conference in New Orleans at a minor discount are there.
I’m in!
DeVonta Smith, WR
DeVonta Smith led the Eagles in catches when these two teams played in Week 1 (7-84-0 on eight targets). That was the beginning of a nice run to open the season (four touchdowns in seven games with over 60 receiving yards in six of them).
Once we got comfortable with him, however, things went sideways during a midseason swoon. That wasn’t a fun stretch for season-long managers, but we appear to be out of it now, and that means you can deploy him with confidence.
- Weeks 9-11: 16% target rate
- Weeks 14-17: 28% target rate
The missed time in the middle was the result of a hamstring injury that appears to be very much in the past. Not only is he back to earning looks at a high rate, but he’s moving down the field like what we’ve seen in previous years (Week 17 vs. Dallas: 14.2-yard aDOT). I prefer A.J. Brown at his cost this week, but with the Packers continuing to work around the Jaire Alexander absence, there’s certainly a path to Smith having a big performance.
He’s a top-10 receiver for me this week.
Dallas Goedert, TE
Dallas Goedert returned from a knee injury that cost him four games last week, and Philadelphia made a point to get him involved early. Grant Calcaterra hasn’t reached 35 receiving yards since October, and his failure to provide value to the Eagles’ passing game has me optimistic that Goedert will assume a full-time role this weekend.
Is that enough to matter with both star receivers earning looks at a high rate?
I’m not sure there’s much in the way of the ceiling when it comes to Goedert’s profile, but this is a potent offense with a multi-game projection — that’s enough to have my attention in playoff leagues.
In weekly contests, I don’t mind Goedert, but I’m not landing there due to my liking the two TEs who sandwich him in pricing more (Dalton Kincaid and Tucker Kraft).
You’re rostering Goedert as a floor play. There’s nothing wrong with that, but in a position that weighs touchdowns heavily, I’m not getting there for a player who hasn’t scored more than three touchdowns in a season since 2021.
Goedert caught four passes for 31 yards in Week 1 against these Packers, a stat line that essentially matches my mean expectation.