The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off a 42-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. With the loss, the Eagles are now only one game ahead of the 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Philadelphia will now travel to Dallas on Sunday in a game that could have major playoff implications.
In the loss to the 49ers, RB D’Andre Swift took some very big hits and left to go to the locker room. He is currently questionable, but if that is something that could linger for a week or so, should fantasy football managers look at signing Kenneth Gainwell off the waiver wire?
Should Kenneth Gainwell Be a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add in Week 14?
The Eagles, despite being the defending NFC champions, are in pretty much a must-win game on Sunday. If they lose to the Cowboys, they will no longer control their destiny to be the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
Philadelphia has been atop the conference standings nearly all year, but now coming off the loss to San Francisco, the Eagles are in for a huge game.
Despite Swift’s injury, the entire Eagles team struggled to run the ball on Sunday. Philadelphia rushed the ball 18 times for 46 yards and one touchdown in the loss to the 49ers. Gainwell, himself, finished with two carries for five yards.
While he may see his role increase on Sunday because of Swift’s availability, there’s no reason why Gainwell should be a waiver wire addition. In the first two weeks of the season, he had 14 carries in each game, finishing with 97 total yards.
After that second game of the season, Gainwell lost pretty much all of his carries to Swift. In those first two games, Gainwell had 28 total carries. Yet, since then, he has only 31 total.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
Gainwell has been taken out of the offense, and even if he is the RB1 this week, he’s not expected to get the ball very often. He did have five catches for 42 yards against the 49ers, but he’ll have to score a touchdown in any game he’s in to have any fantasy value.
Right now, we don’t even know what Swift’s status is. If he can go, then this isn’t even a conversation. But if Swift is forced to miss some time, then the brunt of the offense is going to be on QB Jalen Hurts’ shoulders.
The game Sunday is one of those regular-season games that has a playoff feel to it. A win against the Cowboys all but locks up the NFC East and keeps Philadelphia in position to get the one seed. That means the Eagles are going to rely heavily on their star players such as Hurts, and WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
Stay away from Gainwell, as the potential just isn’t there.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!