RADIO
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the Philadelphia Eagles over the course of the last two seasons it’s that Head Coach Chip Kelly is a wild man. In just two seasons in Philly, Kelly has managed to completely overhaul the offense to his liking, seemingly shipping off veterans at will. Under normal circumstances, this would be troublesome as it pertains to fantasy production given all the moving parts. Fortunately for us, Chip Kelly’s offensive scheme is far too favorable to be cause for concern.
Offseason Acquisitions: QB Sam Bradford, QB Tim Tebow, RB DeMarco Murray, RB Ryan Mathews, WR Nelson Agholor
No Longer on the Roster: QB Nick Foles, RB LeSean McCoy, WR Jeremy Maclin, RB Chris Polk
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Quarterbacks
One of the biggest moves of the offseason involved the Eagles trading quarterback Nick Foles to the Rams for Sam Bradford. Thanks to a series of unfortunate ACL injuries, Bradford hasn’t played in a regular season game since October 2013. That is a massive layoff for any NFL player let alone a guy you’d trade for to be your starting quarterback. The team also brought back Mark Sanchez who filled in for Foles while he was sidelined. This leaves us with Bradford and Sanchez in an open competition to determine the starting QB. Even with the expectation that Bradford will win the job easily, we can’t just ignore the fact that Sanchez put up decent numbers while filling in for Foles. His 64.1% completion rate and 2,418 yards over nine games is a telling sign that despite a high interception total with 11, Sanchez still benefits from the Chip Kelly system.
That’s just it though; virtually any competent quarterback can put up numbers in this offense. A common analysis you’ll see across a variety of fantasy sites is combining the stats of Eagles’ quarterbacks from last year. As a team, the Eagles had 621 pass attempts with 4,356 yards, putting them at fifth and sixth in those respective categories. Even with a middle-of-the-pack passing touchdown total, it’s clear that this offense is fantasy friendly despite the quarterback carousel. Whoever ends up starting for this team will be fantasy relevant as a potential starter in a 12-team league. If you’re the type of person who likes to wait on QB, it would be wise to stash Bradford (assuming a clean bill of health) once he’s announced as the starter in the event the guy you actually drafted doesn’t pan out.
Wide Receivers
Another offseason, and another number one wide receiver gone from Philly. After DeSean Jackson departed for Washington, the door was left wide open for Jeremy Maclin to step right into fantasy dominance and that’s exactly what he did this past season. Maclin finished with 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns on 85 receptions. Those numbers were good enough to net him a top-10 fantasy year at the wide receiver position in virtually any format. Now that Maclin has signed with the Chiefs, second year player Jordan Matthews is expected to take over as the number one passing option in Philly. Matthews had impressive numbers as a rookie with 872 yards and eight touchdowns, despite only starting in 10 games. Those numbers should easily increase now that he’s the presumed number one receiver on the team. This offense has shown that the primary pass-catcher can and will put up big numbers.
Matthews is often ranked among the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Kelvin Benjamin, and Brandin Cooks, all of which possess similar upside. It’d be a safe assessment to state that those four players represent their own tier as being high-end WR2s with WR1 upside. Personally, I would rank them Benjamin, Hopkins, Matthews, Cooks but if you were to prefer Matthews over all of them it would be hard to argue with that viewpoint. In short, Matthews is poised to build upon his rookie season with a potentially massive breakout sophomore year.
Running Backs
Oh boy…first this team trades away LeSean McCoy to Buffalo, then it appears they’ve signed Frank Gore who jukes away from them by signing with Indianapolis, then the Eagles bring in Ryan Mathews as a big downgrade from what they had last year, and finally they sign DeMarco Murray to officially become their starting running back. It was a lengthy and convoluted route to arrive at Murray being the starter but alas that’s where we are. Murray had the benefit of running behind the best offensive line in football while a member of the Dallas Cowboys last year so it’s no surprise there’s concern about a drop-off in 2015. That said, the Eagles O-line is nothing to sneeze at despite being considered a downgrade. Throw in the fact that Murray has to compete with Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles for touches, AND the constant concerns about his health, and you’re left with a version of DeMarco Murray that’s a bit worrisome at his ADP.
DeMarco Murray led the league last season in rushing yards, attempts, and was tied for rushing touchdowns with Marshawn Lynch. 2014 was also the first year he was able to stay healthy for the full 16 games. Even if you were to throw out the health concerns, the worries about Matthews and Sproles eating into his workload are legitimate. That being said, the Eagles ran the ball the seventh most times in the NFL last year with 474 so there are plenty of attempts to go around. Murray should still lead the team in carries with ease followed by Ryan Matthews with Darren Sproles assuming more of a pass-catching role. That would diminish Murray’s PPR value but it almost doesn’t matter. There are only 10 or so running backs you’d feel comfortable with as your RB1 anyway so even if you were to get him 10th in any format you’re still in good shape. I have him slotted eighth among running backs just behind Arian Foster and LeSean McCoy. Most rankers seem to shuffle around backs six through ten so it really comes down to which risk you’re most comfortable with. I don’t think the risk on Murray is great enough to avoid him as I’d be totally fine taking him in latter half of the first round.
As for Mathews and Sproles, I’d only want to own Sproles in a PPR league while passing on Mathews as anything more than a handcuff to Murray. Mathews doesn’t exactly have a history of staying healthy and he’s an inferior talent to Murray so even if he were to get more touches than anticipated, I wouldn’t feel all that comfortable using a roster spot on him if I can avoid it. Besides, this offense will have plenty of mouths to feed as it is so it’ll be difficult to utilize two running backs on a consistent basis let alone three. This is a non-traditional running-back-by-committee that shouldn't hurt the top guy in DeMarco Murray.
Rookies and Tight Ends
The most interesting name the Eagles drafted this year was that of wide receiver Nelson Agholor out of USC. Agholor should automatically become the number two receiver once he edges out the incumbent in Riley Cooper. This offense can certainly sustain two relevant wide receivers, especially as it pertains to touchdowns. Both Jordan Matthews and Riley Cooper have proven when they were alongside WR1s that there were plenty of receptions to go around for a number two receiver. Agholor is consistently ranked within the WR4 range which is appropriate. He’s by no means a starter come week one of a standard league but should be owned in all leagues in any format.
Tight End Zach Ertz is entering his third season in the NFL and his second as the starter in Philadelphia. Ertz was a trendy sleeper last year, a title he’s likely to continue holding for 2015. Ertz finished with a respectable 702 yards but his touchdown numbers lacked at just three. Ertz should improve as a player and finish within the top 10 at the tight end position in fantasy. He’s firmly entrenched in the lower tier of tight ends alongside the likes of Jason Witten and Dwayne Allen but possesses much more upside by far so I’d advocate targeting him as your starter in the later rounds.
The Eagles are expected to continue to be one of the more fantasy-friendly teams in the NFL. DeMarco Murray and Jordan Mathews are the two biggest names to target with Zach Ertz holding some late round value. Even with a cloud of mystery currently surrounding the quarterback position, this is a team you can rely on for fantasy production.
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