A week after TE Dallas Goedert went catch-less on one target, the Eagles clearly made it a point to get him going in Thursday night's game vs. the Vikings. Goedert finished with a team-high seven targets on 23 Jalen Hurts passes -- good for a 30.4% target share. Unfortunately, he managed just 22 scoreless yards on six catches. Goedert's grabs all came near the line of scrimmage, and he wasn't able to pick up much after the catch. It's been an underwhelming start to the season for Goedert and Philly's passing game in general. But we expect the passing game to get rolling. And Goedert remains a big part of it, registering elite 90% and 87% route rates in these first two games. He remains a top-six fantasy TE and is a nice buy-low candidate on the trade market.
Eagles WR A.J. Brown mustered just four catches for 29 scoreless yards in Thursday night's win over the Vikings. He was visibly frustrated on a night when Philly's passing game struggled to get anything done outside of two deep balls to WR DeVonta Smith. Brown had a 25-yard TD in the fourth quarter negated by a holding penalty on RB Rashaad Penny -- and then appeared to be interfered with on a potential TD on the very next play. The Eagles' passing game has looked disjointed through two weeks, but we expect it to get rolling soon. Brown remains a fantasy must-start with week-winning upside. Although there's very little separating him and Smith in terms of fantasy value at this point.
Eagles RB Rashaad Penny was active for Thursday night's game vs. the Vikings, but you wouldn't have known it for most of the game. His first offensive touch didn't come until late in the third quarter -- after RB Boston Scott exited for a concussion check, and after RB D'Andre Swift had already racked up 18 carries. Penny wound up with three carries for nine yards, plus one catch for five yards. It's clear at this point that Penny is currently fourth on Philadelphia's RB depth chart. The only thing that makes Penny worth keeping stashed in deeper fantasy leagues is that both Scott and RB Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) are injured. But Penny might also need a Swift injury to find fantasy relevance.
RB D'Andre Swift dominated the Eagles backfield work and dominated the Vikings defense on Thursday night. With RB Kenneth Gainwell out with a rib injury, Swift handled 28 of 36 RB carries (78%), ripping off 175 yards and a score. Swift displayed impressive vision and explosiveness, running behind an offensive line that manhandled Minnesota's defense. He was a bit unlucky to not have an even bigger fantasy outing, twice getting tackled at the one-yard line. (QB Jalen Hurts scored on the next play both times.) Swift, of course, got just two touches behind a healthy Gainwell in Week 1. But it's tough to imagine the Eagles going away from him as their lead back after this performance.
Vikings RB Alexander Mattison mustered just 28 scoreless yards on eight carries (3.5 YPC) in Thursday night’s loss to the Eagles. He turned six targets into three catches and 11 yards. Mattison has now totaled 83 yards on 25 touches through two games this season — an ugly 3.3 yards per touch. He hasn’t gotten much help from his offensive line but also hasn’t made much happen on his own. Mattison continued to dominate the backfield work vs. Philadelphia, with RB Ty Chandler getting just one carry and two targets. But we could see Chandler’s role grow if Mattison doesn’t start producing more. Mattison's RB2 status is on very shaky ground.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins chucked for 364 yards and four TDs in Thursday night’s loss to the Eagles. He did it despite consistent pressure from the Eagles pass rush — and Minnesota only running 55 offensive plays. Cousins was efficient, completing 70.5% of his passes at 8.3 yards per clip. And the Vikings went extremely pass-heavy. Cousins threw 44 times vs. just nine total runs. That’s become a regular occurrence for Minnesota under HC Kevin O’Connell — and has made Cousins a steady fantasy producer. Expect to find him inside the top-12 QBs in our rankings the next four weeks vs. the Chargers, Panthers, Chiefs, and Bears. Week 7 brings a tough matchup against San Francisco.
Outside of two deep balls to WR DeVonta Smith, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts struggled to get much going through the air in Thursday night’s win over the Vikings. He finished with 193 yards, one TD, and one INT on 18-of-23 passing. But Hurts added 35 yards and two TDs on the ground to turn in a big fantasy day. Both of those scores came on the evidently unstoppable tush-push play from the Minnesota one-yard line. Philly’s passing game has yet to click through two weeks. But there’s too much talent for it not to get going soon. In the meantime, Hurts’ rushing production will buoy his fantasy value. There’s nothing scary on Hurts’ schedule until a Week 6 matchup vs. the Jets.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (chest) got in a limited practice on Thursday. He was in and out of last week's game with this chest injury but should be available for Monday night's meeting with the Browns.
Panthers WR D.J. Chark (hamstring) got in a limited practice on Thursday. He has a shot to play vs. the Saints on Monday night but shouldn't be in your Week 2 fantasy plans.
Saints RB Kendre Miller (hamstring) put in a limited practice on Thursday. It's an upgrade after he missed all three practices last week. Miller seemingly has a shot to make his regular-season debut vs. the Panthers on Monday night. He wouldn't be a fantasy option but would put a dent in RB Jamaal Williams' volume projection.
Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy (hamstring) was upgraded to full participation in Thursday's practice. He's on track to make his 2023 debut vs. the Commanders this weekend, although insider Benjamin Allbright expects Jeudy to be on a snap count. We'll look for further updates on the plan for Jeudy, but as it stands now, we'd try not to use him in Week 2 fantasy lineups.
Rams WR Puka Nacua was added to Thursday's injury report with an oblique and did not practice. Uh oh. Fantasy football's hottest waiver add is suddenly in question for Sunday's game vs. the 49ers. We'll look for further updates on Nacua's injury and see how he's listed on the final injury report tomorrow.
Chargers RB Austin Ekeler (ankle) missed practice again on Thursday. He's no longer on the injury report with "personal," so we know it's the ankle keeping him out. Ekeler is looking legitimately iffy for Sunday's game vs. the Titans. We'll see if he practices on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report.
Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins (ankle) missed his second straight practice on Thursday. We haven't heard anything about this ankle issue, so it's possible that Hopkins is just getting some mid-week rest. But check back tomorrow to see how he's listed on the final injury report for this weekend's game vs. the Chargers.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (knee) remained limited in Thursday's practice. He's seemingly on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Jaguars, but we'll see how Kelce is listed on the final injury report tomorrow.
Ravens TE Mark Andrews (quad) remained limited in Thursday's practice. His status for this weekend's game vs. the Bengals is still uncertain. Check back tomorrow to see how Andrews is listed on the final injury report.
Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers (concussion) remained sidelined on Thursday. He's not going to be cleared in time for this weekend's game vs. the Bills. Meyers' absence figures to mean an even heavier reliance on WR Davante Adams in Buffalo.
Packers WR Christian Watson (hamstring) missed practice again on Thursday. He's a long shot to play vs. the Falcons this weekend and should be on fantasy benches.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo showed Eagles LB Nicholas Morrow wearing the green helmet dot during warmups for tonight's game against the Vikings. That indicates he'll take over play-calling duties in the defensive huddle, vacated with Nakobe Dean's injury. That matters because it points to Morrow likely staying on the field most among LBs. We've knocked Christian Elliss -- who wore the dot last Sunday after Dean left -- out of the LB rankings and installed Morrow in LB4 range. Morrow was just elevated from the practice squad earlier this week, when Dean landed on IR.
Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert (knee) returned to a full practice on Thursday. He'll be ready for lead-back duties in this weekend's game vs. the Patriots.
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