Fantasy Football 2021 Team Previews: Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles Fantasy Preview 2021

All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.

** = target in drafts at this ADP

Top 120

**Miles Sanders, RB (ADP: 32): Sanders is going to be hotly debated all summer, because he was a big disappointment last year, and his ADP has not fully reflected how much he annoyed fantasy owners who drafted him. Sanders played in 12 games, tallying 867 yards and six touchdowns. While that doesn’t seem all that bad, nor does his 5.3 yards per carry, he was simply good when he had been drafted to carry your team. While I can understand how that leaves a sour taste in many people’s mouths, I’m here to urge you to pick yourself up off the mat and try again at this ADP.

Sanders is a supremely talented RB in an offense that will run the ball a lot. As we’ll get into shortly, QB Jalen Hurts is not a polished passer, and while he may vulture Sanders’ touchdowns a bit, a QB with his rushing ability typically aids the running back. Sanders will dominate snaps and touches; the next two RBs on the depth chart are receiving specialists, and then there’s Kerryon Johnson, who hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Third, he can really catch the ball. Now I know he didn’t last season, which was part of why he was a letdown, but that was a sin of the offensive scheme and the Eagles’ QBs. On the ground, Sanders is efficient (75.3 rushing grade on PFF) and we’ve seen him tally 50 receptions as a rookie. With Hurts starting the season in the driver’s seat, this offense could surprise people. I expect Sanders to be a big time value here.

Jalen Hurts, QB (ADP: 77): I haven’t been particularly kind about Hurts this offseason, as I previously wrote about my major concerns regarding his ADP. Nobody seems to share them, as his ADP has remained remarkably steady, and even I’ll admit the ceiling is extremely high. While he graded very poorly as a passer, and he wasn’t considered a polished passing prospect coming out of Oklahoma (despite gaudy stats), his brief track record with the Eagles has some bangers. He threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns vs. Arizona in Week 15 and then for 342 yards and a score vs. Dallas in Week 16. He’s capable of absolute explosions, and he did that with arguably the worst receiving corps in football. I do not like Hurts’ ADP at all, and he is not inside my Top 10 QBs, but I surely do see why he can get folks excited. Every season there are league-winning QBs that are outside of the consensus top few; Hurts can be that guy this year, but they’re typically a bit cheaper than this.

Dallas Goedert, TE (ADP: 85): Goedert has a chance to be a breakout TE this season and work his way into the tier below Travis Kelce/George Kittle/Darren Waller, but he needs some things to go right. First, he needs Hurts to be a consistent passer, and I’m not supremely confident in that. Second, he needs the Eagles to dump Zach Ertz. We all expect it to happen, but it hasn’t yet, and if Ertz is around then he’s going to sap Goedert’s value. Third, he needs more targets. He saw fewer targets per game last year than Ertz and Eric Ebron. Goedert is currently the eighth TE off the board, which seems proper. While he’s obviously an impressive athlete, and it seems logical that in Year 4 of his career he’d evolve into a primary red zone option and focal point of the passing game, none of this has been borne out on the field yet. These are all theories, and while they’re fun, Hurts hasn’t proven he can support multiple pass-catchers. In fact, we’ve seen MVPs ::cough, LAMAR JACKSON, cough:: barely support any fantasy relevant pass catchers. So for now, while I like the upside, I wouldn’t go any higher than this for Goedert in anticipation of being a league-changer. I view him more as a solid weekly start.

**Devonta Smith, WR (ADP: 102): If any Eagles pass-catcher is going to thrive, I anticipate it will be Smith. He may have been the steal of the draft, falling to No. 10 overall after winning a Heisman trophy with staggering numbers. He dominated his final two seasons at Alabama, scoring 38 touchdowns. As a senior he caught 117 passes for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns while sharing opportunities with Jaylen Waddle, who went five picks ahead of him, and Najee Harris at RB. Smith walks into league as an elite route runner, so whenever you hear someone bring up how small he is, just laugh and draft him anyway. It doesn’t matter how big you are when no defenders can stay anywhere near you. It’s not often rookie WRs are dominant, but Smith has a unique opportunity here in that the Eagles really have no other WRs on the roster to infringe on his target share. Goedert is the closest thing to a threat, and maybe Jalen Reagor gets in the mix. I absolutely love him at this ADP, as the 38th receiver off the board.

Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)

Zach Ertz, TE (ADP: 157): The glory days are gone for Ertz, who likely saw his time as a highly-targeted TE end in 2020. Injuries limited him to 11 games, and his production fell off a cliff. He’s still an Eagle for now, but it’s unlikely he makes it through training camp. Maybe he can latch on somewhere with a barren pass-catching landscape, but even then he’s likely nothing more than a streamer. He can be safely ignored, and I expect this ADP to plummet as time goes on.

Kenneth Gainwell, RB (ADP: 199): Gainwell is a fairly exciting prospect out of Memphis who didn’t play in 2020. In 2019, however, he put up big stats, compiling more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and catching 51 passes for 610 yards and three touchdowns. Gainwell could be a dagger in my opinion that Sanders will be a full-time, three-down workhorse, because Gainwell’s receiving skills are impressive. If so, Sanders will be more like a diet Nick Chubb, and Gainwell could be a poor man’s Kareem Hunt. As the 60th RB off the board, it doesn’t cost much to take the flier, although there’s some real competition for this role from Boston Scott and Kerryon Johnson. Gainwell is exciting, but those veterans cannot just be waved off without a thought, particularly Scott who has been in Philly for several seasons now.

Sleeper Class (200 & later)

Jalen Reagor, WR (ADP: 203): Reagor, a first round pick last season, was a bust. He caught only 31 passes for 396 yards and one score in 11 games, failing to establish himself as a clear No. 1 target in as weak a pool of pass-catchers as you’ll find. Obviously it’s way too early to dismiss Reagor, but I was not very high on him as a rookie, and I’m worried about his QB situation. He bears monitoring early in the year to see if he develops a rapport with Hurts in Year 2, but even at this ADP I’m likely looking elsewhere in a higher-volume offense for a WR lottery ticket.

Boston Scott, RB (ADP: 252): Drafting Gainwell could very well be a signal that Scott won’t be on the team by the time Week 1 rolls around, but if he does remain he’s purely a handcuff to Sanders, and not one you need to draft. In full-PPR leagues Scott might have a shred of value as depth, but make sure he hasn’t fallen completely behind Gainwell on the depth chart by draft day.

Greg Ward, WR (ADP: 274): Ward has found himself fantasy relevant two years running due to aggressive injury bugs that love feasting on the Eagles. Last year he caught 53 passes for 419 yards and six touchdowns, and has some familiarity with Hurts. With that said, his ceiling is low, and he’s a deep league FLEX at best even if he was the Eagles’ first or second best receiver. Right now he’s looking at Smith and Reagor well ahead of him in the pecking order, so ignore him on draft day.

Travis Fulgham, WR (ADP: 298): Fulgham flirted with being a breakout last year before crashing and burning spectacularly. Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts didn’t help matters, but Fulgham averaged 5.8 receptions and 87 yards from Weeks 4-8, and then never caught more than two passes in a game again. It was a disappearing act fit for a Vegas late-night magic show, and one that I recommend avoiding on draft day.

Kerryon Johnson, RB (ADP: 326): Johnson could be a fantasy relevant player with an injury to Sanders. While Gainwell has a lot of potential, and was nearly a 1,500-yard rusher in 2019 at Memphis, Johnson has never been a bad RB. He’s just battled injury. I have not given up on Johnson as a primary ballcarrier if given enough opportunity; the problem is Sanders is going to soak up all the opportunity, and Gainwell/Scott will spell him in the early going as pass-catchers. Johnson’s path to snaps is entirely reliant on an injury, so he’s not worth drafting.

Defense/Special Teams (ADP: 356)

Philly’s defense was mediocre last year, and despite the presence of some playmakers, should be middling again. They’ll have to deal with Dallas twice, an improved Washington offense, and a Giants team with Saquon Barkley returning and Kenny Golladay in the mix. That alone knocks them down to streaming category.