Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, October 31 at 1:00 PM ET
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Betting Odds: DET +3.5, 48 Total on Oddshark
Network: FOX
Philadelphia Eagles
QUARTERBACKS
Jalen Hurts (Start)
Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Eagles traded veteran backup quarterback Joe Flacco to the New York Jets for a conditional sixth-round pick. Within 24 hours, the airwaves around Philly were buzzing with talk about when, not if, Gardner Minshew would replace Jalen Hurts as the Eagles’ starting quarterback.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s pump the brakes for a second. The problem in Philadelphia isn’t Jalen Hurts. It wasn’t Carson Wentz, either. Between awful playcalling and overmatched personnel, we don’t exactly know where to start pointing fingers, but we found a place that’s as good as any:
Nick Sirianni says his message to the team was “Even if the results aren’t showing, there is growth under the soil,” and that everyone in the building needs to be “fertilizer” for the #Eagles flower to boom. Nick says he showed the team pictures of flowers in the team meeting. pic.twitter.com/QFuPtRdB5D
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) October 27, 2021
Jalen Hurts certainly has room for improvement. He has underthrown several receivers streaking down the sidelines and made a few poor decisions with the football. However, from a fantasy football perspective, he’s a demigod: Hurts is the overall QB2 so far, ahead of Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and every other NFL quarterback not named Tom Brady. As long as Hurts takes snaps under (or behind) center, he’s a “must-start” every week, especially in matchups like this one: the Lions rank 27th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.
RUNNING BACKS
Kenny Gainwell (Start, RB2), Boston Scott (Sit)
Leading up to last week, Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen went on record saying that the team needed to get Miles Sanders more involved in the offense. A slight problem developed with this long-overdue paradigm shift: Sanders left the game early with an ankle injury that will keep him out of this week’s contest against the Detroit Lions.
Will this mean more Kenny Gainwell? The math checks out from a usage standpoint; Sanders played approximately two-thirds of the snaps prior to injury, and the remaining third went almost exclusively to Gainwell. It appears Gainwell will step into Sanders’ shoes while Boston Scott fills the role Gainwell left behind. One caveat: Gainwell appears to be more trusted by the coaching in the passing game.
Going into Week 7, Gainwell and Sanders were each targeted a total of 23 times, yet Gainwell played half as many snaps. The rookie from Memphis saw eight balls thrown his way last week, tying his own Week 4 tally for the highest total by any Eagles running back this season. Scott should at least offer some value in deeper leagues, but Gainwell can be started in just about all formats.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
DeVonta Smith (Start, WR3), Quez Watkins (Sit), Jalen Reagor (Sit), Dallas Goedert (Start)
After hauling in five receptions in three of his last four games, DeVonta Smith is a locked-and-loaded WR3 this week against a Lions defense that ranks 26th in points allowed to fantasy wide receivers. We love Quez Watkins, and so does Jalen Hurts: Watkins has seen more targets than former first-round pick Jalen Reagor in three of the Eagles last four games. We don’t love the idea of starting either this week, but if we had to choose, we’d stand with Quez. Instead, we’ll sit them both this week.
Finally, Dallas Goedert racked up 70 receiving yards last week, the most by any Eagles tight end in any game this season. With Zach Ertz now out of the picture, expect Goedert to ascend to finish as a Top Five tight end several times down the stretch. He played 93 percent of the team’s snaps in Week 7: the former South Dakota State standout isn’t just a pass-catching threat; he brings it as a run blocker, as well.
Detroit Lions
QUARTERBACK
Jared Goff (Sit)
You don’t really need us to tell you to sit Jared Goff, but we’re going to do it anyway. Goff is barely startable in 2 QB leagues, so we want no parts of him in traditional, single quarterback formats. Never settle for below-average production at a deep position, so do yourself a favor and pass on Goff.
RUNNING BACKS
D’Andre Swift (Start, RB1), Jamaal Williams (Sit)
What in the name of Joique Bell is going on here? The best fantasy football option in this game is a Detroit Lions running back. That’s right, D’Andre Swift is the RB2 so far in 2021, thanks in large part to his prowess in the passing game: his 52 targets (7.4 per game) are tops in the league among running backs. This isn’t your father’s Theo Reddick, however, as Swift is currently the RB2 in all of fantasy right now. Here’s the strange part: it feels like he hasn’t even scratched the surface yet.
Jamaal Williams was a nice idea way back in late August and early September, but he’s since proven to be an afterthought in the passing game, where PPR running backs prove their worth. Williams does get a fair amount of carries, three more than Swift over the past four weeks. We don’t advise starting him, but stashing him on the bench isn’t the worst idea around.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Khalif Raymond (Sit), Amon-Ra St. Brown (Sit), KhaDarel Hodge (Sit), Trinity Benson (Sit), T.J. Hockenson (Start)
This wide receiving corps was supposed to be led by Tyrell Williams and Qunitez Cephus, and that was bad enough. Injuries to both starters have left the Lions with a position group that looks like it just walked right out of the XFL and into an NFL huddle. Journeyman Khalif Raymond posted a career day in Week 7, but we don’t like his odds of repeating that feat on command. Amon-Ra St. Brown disappeared last week, and he’s done little to inspire confidence as a weekly fantasy football lineup stalwart. We just couldn’t respect ourselves if we recommended KhaDarel Hodge or Trinity Benson.
The only other Lion we can get behind as a fantasy starter is T.J. Hockenson. The Iowa product seems to be figuring it out as an NFL tight end, and should serve as a weekly starter from now until the end of the regular season. He has averaged 10 targets per game over the past two weeks, and we think he’ll have a huge day against an Eagles defense that lacks talent at the linebacker position.