Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 13 at 4:25 PM ET
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
Betting Odds: NO -7, 44 Total via Oddsshark
Network: FOX
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback
Taysom Hill (Start, QB1)
Guess who has suddenly become a top 5 quarterback? Taysom Hill gives us a rushing floor that has become so coveted from the quarterback position and it could be better if Week 12 against Denver wasn’t an exhibition game. In the two competitive games, we have seen Hill go for 465 yards passing, 2 passing touchdowns with 132 yards, and 2 more touchdowns on the ground. That is only in two starts that I would count as being real games. He now gets Philadelphia who has been middle of the pack against quarterbacks but hasn’t faced one quite like Hill in a while. Regardless, he is hard to gameplan against. Keep him in your QB1 thoughts this week and start him over anyone not named Mahomes, Murray, Rodgers, and Lamar.
Running Backs
Alvin Kamara (Start, RB1), Latavius Murray (Sit)
Alvin Kamara had been looking like a flex play since Hill came on and had us all starting to worry with his low usage. Thankfully, we saw Kamara get more opportunities this week, including a rushing score that gave us all a little bit of relief. Now going against a similarly stout defense this week to the ones he has been facing the past three, if Kamara can see the 17 touches he saw last week, his talent should be enough to cross the RB1 threshold, even if it does end in low-end RB1 value as opposed to what we were used to. His running mate Latavius Murray is the definition of a smokescreen. He always has these games, like Week 12 and Week 4, where he pops off for 20 points and then everyone says to start him, only to watch him score single digits. That was the case again this week as it was Kamara that got good opportunities. Keep Murray as a handcuff for playoff-bound teams.
Wide Receivers
Michael Thomas (Start, WR1), Emmanuel Sanders (Sit), Tre’Quan Smith (Sit), Jared Cook (Sit)
In the two games that have mattered since Hill became the starter, Michael Thomas has delivered 19.4 and 19.5 points against the Falcons Taysom Hill hasn’t been throwing much, but when he does it is usually to Thomas, which is what we expected all year long in a mostly lost year from MT. coming off 9/105 on 11 targets, look for MT to cross the double-digit target threshold again against the Eagles that have gotten roasted by #1 WRs in the past two weeks (Davante Adams and DK Metcalf). Past MT there are just not any names that excite me in the first round of playoffs as Taysom Hill doesn’t throw enough. Sure someone could catch a touchdown, but Hill has only thrown two total in his three starts. This is a run-first offense and the secondary pieces are mere dart throws. You don’t play darts in the playoffs.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts (Sit)
Trust me, I get it. We see it on Reddit every week when an anticipated player gets a start, “ALL ABOARD THE ______ HYPE TRAIN!” Well, this is not a week to be boarding trains. It is time to hunker down, dig roots, and lock in for the playoff run. Jalen Hurts breathed some life into the Eagles’ offense, but it was a game that was already lost against the Packers. He had 109/1/1 with 29 yards rushing in limited action. He is finally getting his first NFL start, but this is a wait and see until next year approach with titles on the line.
Running Backs
Miles Sanders (Start, Flex), Boston Scott (Sit)
Most likely if you have owned Miles Sanders this year, you don’t care about what I have to say here because you have gone fishing. Over his last three games, the numbers are not pretty at all. Since the bye week, Sanders has descended into darkness, totaling 13.5, 9.1, 6.2, and finally a miserable 3.1 last week in a must-win for many. Having basically zero passing roles, Sanders is a shaky flex for those that have made it to playoffs with him, but unfortunately, you have to get RB1/2 numbers from him to have a fighting chance. Good luck and start thinking of your 2021 draft plan. Boston Scott isn’t even a handcuff right now as this offense is a mess. Maybe Hurts will help, but I doubt it.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
Travis Fulgham (Sit), Greg Ward (Sit), Dallas Goedert (Start, TE1), Zach Ertz (Sit)
Once a fantasy football love story After having double digits and some blow-up games from Weeks 4-8, Travis Fulgham has now had four straight games of 2 or fewer catches, the most recent being zero. He is a drop at this point if you haven’t already. Greg Ward is the only one with some sense of a pulse, and even he is too inconsistent to trust at all even though he just scored last week. The only person worth a look is Dallas Goedert who has seemingly become the preferred tight end option over Zach Ertz after many considered Ertz to be a top 3 tight end coming into the season. Coming off three double-digit games, Goedert is poised to be the security blanket for new starter Jalen Hurts. With the luck of those starting Eagles players this week, we could see Ertz be more involved. For now, we can only use the information we have, and if you have Goedert as your primary option, that isn’t something you should change based on his production.
-Matt Dean (@MattDeanQBList on Twitter, mdean8 on Reddit)