Philadelphia Eagles

Head Coach: Doug Pederson (1st year)
Offensive Coordinator: Frank Reich (1st year)
Defensive Coordinator: Jim Schwartz (1st year)

Depth Chart

Quarterback: Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel, Carson Wentz (r)
Running Back: Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, Kenjon Barner
Wide Receiver: Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff, Chris Givens, Rueben Randle
Tight End: Zach Ertz, Brent Celek
Kicker: Cody Parkey
Defense/Spec Teams: 2015-Finished 30th in yards against and 28th in points against. Finished 17th in sacks and 10th in interceptions.

Coaching Philosophy

Out of all the teams with a new coach (or coaches), we might not see a team change their offensive philosophy as drastically as what is likely to happen in Philadelphia. Former coach Chip Kelly believed that speed was the key and ran a ton of no huddle offenses, which resulted in a ton of plays. That was great for fantasy football production. Doug Pederson has learned under Andy Reid and spent the last few years with him in Kansas City, and they employed a much slower pace. That is not good for fantasy football production. If Pederson employes the West Coast Offense that Reid runs, he could run much less three down sets and that could mean significantly fewer snaps for slot receiver, Jordan Matthews. I think we could see another very up and down season from the youngster. Finally, last season in Kansas City, Pederson ran the ball up the middle 173 times, which was tops in the NFL. On the other hand, Chip Kelly had the Eagles run it up the middle only 112 times, and I think that was one of the main reasons why Demarco Murray had such a poor season. His skill set is not the type to bounce outside and while I think that may limit the big plays we see from the running game in Philly, I think we could see some very good production from the running backs this season.

Fantasy Outlook

Eagles Quarterbacks

I won’t be owning any of this guy in 2016.

I’m staying far away from Sam Bradford this season. There are just too many things that could go wrong for me to use him other than an occasional DFS play in 2016. First, it’s no secret that this guy has a very hard time staying healthy. He has battled a plethora of injuries over his career and if he misses a few games, with Chase Daniel and number two overall pick Carson Wentz in the fold, there’s no guarantee he gets the job back once he’s healthy. There is also the fact that he hasn’t produced, even in the years he’s completed 16 games. He’s never thrown for 3,800 yards or more than 21 touchdowns and that’s not the kind of upside I like to see in my fantasy quarterback. Finally, the Eagles are likely to run a much slower pace this season and that should lead to fewer plays and less production. Leave Bradford alone this year. If Bradford does go down, Chase Daniel may be worth a look on the waiver wire. He’s one of the highest paid backup quarterbacks and hasn’t had a huge body of work yet, so it will be interesting to see how he does if he gets some playing time. Rookie Carson Wentz is a project, and with Bradford and Daniel in the fold, I don’t think we see him this season unless there’s an emergency.

Eagles Running Backs

Ryan Mathews could be a decent RB3 for your fantasy squad this year.

Ryan Mathews looks to be the Eagles’ lead back this season and like Sam Bradford, he’s had a hard time staying healthy over his career. In his six seasons, he’s only been able to stay healthy for all 16 games once. However, when he’s healthy and given the load, he can be a decent fantasy producer. He’s had over 200 carries in a season only twice, but he’s rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of those seasons. He rushed for 5.1 yards per carry behind that Eagles’ offensive line last season, so if he’s given the workload, he could be a decent producer. He likely won’t get a lot of receptions with Darren Sproles involved, but he has shown he can be a decent receiver out of the backfield. Overall, I think he pushes for close to 1,000 yards with five or six touchdowns and maybe throws in 20 or so receptions. He could be a decent RB3 to draft in the sixth or seventh round of drafts this year.

As already stated, the reason I don’t think Mathews will be very involved in the passing game is because they have pass catching extraordinaire back, Darren Sproles. Sproles wasn’t as involved in the passing game under Chip Kelly as he was while in New Orleans, but with Kelly gone and the West Coast Offense making a return, I think he could very well return to better days. While he will likely won’t help you much as far as rushing yards, I can see him having 60+ receptions and being a flex play in deeper PPR leagues.

As far as who will be the handcuff to Ryan Mathews, I would say that primary duties will likely go to fifth round rookie, Wendell Smallwood. Smallwood is 5’10’, 208 pounds and runs a 4.47 40 yard dash. He is an effective runner with average speed, but struggles in pass protection, so he will likely cover the early down work while Sproles holds on to the receiving duty.

Eagles Wide Receivers

Jordan Matthews is going to point the way back to KC if Pederson keeps him off the field too much this year.

Jordan Matthews should lead the Eagles in receptions this year, but I’m worried about him duplicating his 85 catches from last season. As already mentioned, Pederson runs a lot fewer three wide sets than Chip Kelly does, so unless they move Matthews around more, he could be on the field quite a bit less this year. Not only that, but he is currently injured with a bone bruise in his knee and out two to four weeks. That could potentially have him out the rest of training camp costing him valuable reps in a new offense. To me, there are just too many variables out there to make me feel comfortable drafting him as a WR2. If I can get him as my third receiver, I would feel a lot better.

I’m not in love with any of the other receivers on the Eagles for 2016. Nelson Agholor was very unimpressive last season. He will likely serve as the number two receiver and while he runs nice routes and capable of getting some yards after the catch, until I see something from him on the field, he’s nothing more than a late round flier. You can safely pass on Chris Givens, Rueben Randle and Josh Huff on draft day.

Eagles Tight Ends

Eagles tight end, Zach Ertz has improved in each of his three seasons, and the only thing holding him back from entering the land of elite tight ends is his lack of touchdowns. He’s only had a total of nine scores in his three years and for a tight end of his caliber, it’s a little confusing. Luckily, Pederson has a history of looking for the tight end in the red zone during his time in Kansas City. He targeted Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce on more than 21% of his red zone passes and if he carries that over Philly, Ertz could take that step. He finished as the ninth highest scoring tight end in PPR leagues last year, but is now being drafted as the 11th off the board so far in drafts this year. I love his upside and plan on owning several shares of him this season.

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