Redskins at Eagles
Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, September 8th at 1:00 pm EST
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
Betting Odds: PHI -9.5, 45 Total via Oddsshark
Network: FOX
Sleeper Spotlight: Trey Quinn
Washington Redskins
Quarterback
- Case Keenum
- Dwayne Haskins
This season, Case Keenum takes over as the head of the Washington Redskins. He does not have an exciting cast to throw to, which we will get to shortly, but there is a storyline here. No, it isn’t with Keenum’s performance, but it is with the person who is sitting behind him, Dwayne Haskins. The Redskins used the 15th overall pick in this year’s draft to employ Haskins’ services, and many are speculating more on when, not if, Haskins gets the nod. Many will think back to last year when highly drafted quarterbacks Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson were not given the reigns right away, but when they were handed over the rookies were overall spectacular compared to their predecessors. It will not be week one, and possibly not in the first half of the season, but if I had to put money on it we will be talking about the debut of Haskins sooner rather than later. Keenum, however, is currently not even on the streaming radar and should be left on the wire.
Running Backs
- Adrian Peterson
- Derrius Guice
- Chris Thompson
The only decent looking part of the Redskins offense looks to be their running game, which may not be all that great if OL Trent Williams doesn’t sign anytime soon. The trio of running backs all have their stigmas that they come with. Adrian Peterson is old and on the wrong side of 30, but still rushed for 1,000 yards last season and is the plodder of this backfield who can rip off the occasional big run. Chris Thompson is the scatback who can be a PPR monster when healthy, but injuries have derailed what looked to be the second coming of Danny Woodhead for a moment there. The last of the bunch, and most exciting, is Derrius Guice. Guice is being praised by Jay Gruden following a stellar preseason debut, so much so that Gruden says the offensive carries could easily run through Guice. This is our hope, and Guice is on the flex radar this week and could work his way into RB2 territory given enough of the opportunity share.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Paul Richardson
- Trey Quinn
- Jordan Reed/Vernon Davis
This is where it gets ugly for the Redskins. With only three names to mention, none of which are the least bit sexy, this is one of the worst pass-catching groups in the NFL in 2019. Paul Richardson is the defacto number one receiver and he finds himself on many waiver wires around the fantasy community(2% owned, yikes). With that said, I wouldn’t be rushing to pick him up. The guy that I would be keeping an eye on and stashing for week one if you have room is 2018 Mr. Irrelevant Trey Quinn. The slot receiver and punt return man this season, Quinn will be seeing a heavy dosage of dump-off passes this season. I’m not telling you to start him this week, but you could do worse for a lottery ticket in your last bench spot. The last name, or names, to mention are Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis. Reed is coming off his seventh documented concussion since entering the NFL. That is a scary statistic and one that could force him to miss week one and beyond if he is thinking about his future. Reed will be relevant when on the field, but that is a big if. If Reed is out, Davis has shown the ability to be a borderline TE2 in fantasy leagues and can be seen as so in week one.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
- Carson Wentz
Is there anyone else? A true magician on the field, Carson Wentz has been all over the map in his short NFL career. From Superbowl Winner(albeit injured on the sideline) to season-ending injuries, it has been a life of highs and lows in the NFL thus far. Back healthy, we are hoping to see Wentz put up even better numbers then he did in his 2017 season where he played 13 games, throwing for over 3,000 yards and 33 touchdowns with only seven interceptions. Over a full season that would be almost 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns. We would love to see a 4:1 TD: INT ratio and you should be trusting Wentz as one of the top 7 quarterbacks off the board. He is a must-start every week he is healthy, as he has a loaded lineup around him.
Running Backs
- Jordan Howard
- Miles Sanders
- Darren Sproles
We have a battle, folks! Jordan Howard was traded to the Eagles from the Bears during the offseason and everyone thought he was in line to carry the load for the Eagles after they pieced together their backfield last year. Wrong. Just when we thought we had them figured out, they go out and draft Miles Sanders and now the Howard truthers are singing the praises of Sanders as they hope and pray he runs away with the job. Not to mention ageless wonder, Darren Sproles, has been resurrected from his tomb of retirement and taken a drink from the fountain of youth to assume the wheel route role out of the backfield. So what now? Unless you are one of the coaches for the Eagles, you don’t know how this is going to play out. The hope is that for better or worse, one guy is given the bulk of the work so that we can plant our flag. Our main focus in this game will be to see the splits of these three rushers. Stay tuned.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Alshon Jeffery
- DeSean Jackson
- Nelson Agholor
- Zach Ertz
- Dallas Goedert
Remember when I said Carson Wentz had a loaded cast around him? Yeah, this is it. Led by Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz, the pass-catchers for the Eagles are locked and loaded. The players you can lock in every week are Jeffery and Ertz. Past those two, the waters get murky on fantasy production. DeSean Jackson is best left for standard leagues, where receptions don’t matter, but big plays do. As long as his hamstrings stay intact, Jackson will be getting some heaves from Wentz weekly, as he has been doing since Michael Vick. Nelson Agholor has sparked with Wentz in the past, so it will be interesting to see if they can reconnect early in the season, he is off fantasy radars for now, however. Lastly, Dallas Goedert showed promise in his rookie season but has to fight for scraps with a top-three tight end in front of him, plus the other weapons. If there is an injury to Ertz throughout the year, Goedert would shoot up to a high TE2/low TE1 with upside.
–Matt Dean (@MattDeanQBL)