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Evan Silva of Rotoworld recently released his projected top 150 players in fantasy football for the 2017 NFL season. Here's a look at which Philadelphia Eagles players made the cut.
Eagles players
48. Alshon Jeffery (WR29) – Complete unknown in Philadelphia. Weekly volatility seems likely.
Man. As we talked about last week on BGN Radio, some people are really sleeping on Jeffery. I get why people might be skeptical in terms of injuries and the potential suspension factor. But still, there’s a very high ceiling here for Jeffery. He’s clearly the No. 1 target in the Eagles’ passing game. Jeffery is playing for a long-term deal so he’s going to be more motivated than ever to have a strong season. I think Jeffery could be a real steal in fantasy this year if he’s being rated this lowly. Silva had Jeffery at No. 15 last offseason.
75. Jordan Matthews (WR40) – J-Matt has caught at least 65 passes in each of his 3 NFL seasons.
JMatt fell 21 spots from his 2016 ranking. It’ll be interesting to see how Matthews’ production is impacted by the upgrades the Eagles made on offense. On one hand, having legitimate field-stretching weapons on the outside could potentially open the underneath passing game for him in the slot. On the other hand, Matthews is bound to lose targets due to the addition of actual NFL receivers.
103. Zach Ertz (TE10) – Another overvalued tight end. Will lose targets & has never scored TDs.
Ertz has only scored 13 touchdowns on 364 career targets. But the good news is this is finally Ertz’s breakout year! No, for real this time, we mean it! Ertz dropped 13 spots in the rankings from last year.
150. Carson Wentz (QB20) – As rookie, got worse more he played. Now has big-time weapons.
The pressure is on Wentz to make a big leap in Year 2. The addition of Jeffery, Torrey Smith, Mack Hollins, Shelton Gibson, LeGarrette Blount, and Donnel Pumphrey should help him out. The increased chemistry with Matthews and Ertz can’t hurt either. And with Nelson Agholor potentially showing some promise, who knows, maybe Wentz will actually have a pretty solid supporting cast to work with this season.
Honorable mention: Wendell Smallwood
Now that the Eagles have Blount, Smallwood’s value has taken a big hit.
Former Eagles players
9. LeSean McCoy (RB4) – Set career high in yards per carry (5.41) last season. Turns 29 in July.
Shady is coming off a good season. He was only 25th in last year’s rankings so this is a nice jump for him.
14. DeMarco Murray (RB7) – Top-7 RB in 3 of last 4 years. May lose GL work to Derrick Henry.
After being terrible with the Eagles in 2015, Murray bounced back in his first season with the Titans. Murray ranked 74th last year.
53. DeSean Jackson (WR30) – Landed in a plum spot.
DeSean is still really fast. Remains to be seen how that speed holds up as he turns 31 this season.
72. Frank Gore (RB26) – No longer weekly difference maker but RB13, RB12 finishes last 2 years.
This former Eagles legend is still going strong at age 34.
98. Jeremy Maclin (WR47) – Top-40 WR in each of his first six seasons. Dipped to WR75 in ’16.
Maclin dropped 60 spots from last year’s ranking.
Honorable mention: Sam Bradford, Dion Lewis
Reminder that the Eagles got Derek Barnett and a 2018 fourth-round pick in exchange for Sammy Sleeves.
Other notes
- LeGarrette Blount isn’t included in these rankings, which is a shame. They were released shortly before he signed with Philadelphia. I imagine he’d be on an updated version of this list. But what would his rank be?
- Rumored Eagles draft targets Christian McCaffrey (No. 40) and Dalvin Cook (No. 49) both rank in the top 50.
- Last year the Eagles only had four players in the top 150. This year they also have four, though Blount would probably make it five.
- The MMQB also released some fantasy football rankings. Here’s how they ranked Eagles players: Alshon Jeffery at No. 28, Zach Ertz at No. 75, and Jordan Matthews at No. 99.
- Question for you: which Eagles players will you be drafting this year?