By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
Follow @walterfootball for updates.
Each offseason brings change to NFL rosters, and those changes often have fantasy implications. Below, I lay out the changes at the skill positions and how those moves impact the fantasy status of the new roster.
2017
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QB: Carson Wentz, Nick Foles
RB: LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood
WR: Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Torrey Smith, Mack Hollins
TE: Zach Ertz, Brent Celek
2018
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QB: Carson Wentz, Nick Foles
RB: Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, Donnel Pumphrey
WR: Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Mike Wallace, Mack Hollins, Shelton Gibson, Marquess Wilson
TE: Zach Ertz, Richard Rodgers, Dallas Goedert
Pre-Draft Offseason:
The reigning Super Bowl champions weren’t looking to make huge changes this offseason on offense due to a solid roster, but they did make a few moves, with the biggest statistical loss being LeGarrette Blount, who rushed 173 times for 766 yards last season. The mid-season addition of Jay Ajayi likely was enough to compensate for Blount’s departure, and with no big moves at running back, I’m sure Philadelphia’s plan is to insert Ajayi as the lead back. He put up some big rushing numbers on his measly 70 carries, and if his knee can hold up to a larger workload, he’ll have a good shot at fantasy value. Doug Pederson and company don’t have any qualms about spreading the touches around for their running backs though, which makes Ajayi’s upside lower than most lead backs, although with Blount out of the picture, that upside is better than it could be.
The Eagles’ top-two receivers, Alshon Jeffrey and Nelson Agholor, stayed with the team, while they let Torrey Smith walk and picked up Mike Wallace. Wallace is an improvement over Smith and will strengthen the group, but he’ll likely be fourth on the team-targets list as long as Mack Hollins doesn’t take away too much work from him. The Eagles do throw the ball more than average, but Wallace will likely need an injury to someone if he is to become a fantasy asset.
Of course, getting Carson Wentz back from injury will be a boost to Philadelphia’s offense, but he didn’t miss enough to be considered a big change from last year’s regular season. I do expect another solid season from him as long as he is 100 percent, but it will be difficult for him to not regress in his touchdowns-to-pass-attempts ratio. His 33 touchdown passes on just 440 attempts is likely an outlier.
Post-Draft Update
The Eagles only had five total picks and only one under the 125th-overall pick. With that pick, No. 49 overall, they took their only offensive skill position player with tight end Dallas Goedert out of South Dakota State. Philadelphia already has a very good tight end in Zach Ertz, but Doug Peterson is all about having multiple skill players who can perform at a high level and keep defenses off balance. This is the way of winning in the NFL now, as seen by the Patriots and now the Eagles, and it will make fantasy tougher, but also make the Eagles an offense we can rely on for fantasy points. This is good news for Carson Wentz to be sure, but it will make deciphering the percentage of touches a player gets truly difficult. Goedert could easily see some work this season, even with Ertz healthy.
2018 Fantasy Outlook:
Stud: Carson Wentz
Solid: Alshon Jeffrey, Zach Ertz, Jay Ajayi
Sleeper: Corey Clement
For more recommendations, check out WalterFootball.com’s Fantasy Football Rankings.
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2018 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2018 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 9/5 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings - 8/29 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 9/5 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings - 8/29 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/5 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings - 8/29 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 9/5 (Walt)
Chet Gresham's Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings - 8/29 (Chet)
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2018 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 8/21 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings: Dynasty - 8/21 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings: Dynasty - 5/18 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:
Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 9/1 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/30 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/27 (Walt)
Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft - 8/23 (Walt)
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Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 8/16 (Walt)
Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft - 8/9 (Walt)
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2018 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - 9/5 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 PPR - 9/5 (Walt)
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2018 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Custom - 9/5 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football: Dynasty Rankings - 9/5 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football Spreadsheets - 9/5 (Walt)
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2018 Fantasy Football Sleepers - 9/5 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football Busts - 9/5 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football Mid-Round Values - 9/5 (Walt)
2018 NFL Preseason Game Recaps - 8/31 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Preseason Games - 8/31 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football Notes - 8/31 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Quarterback Preseason Targets Tracker - 8/30 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football D/ST Drafting - 8/28 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football ADP Values: Running Backs - 8/16 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Round-by-Round Strategy Guide - 8/15 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football ADP Values: Quarterbacks - 8/15 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Tight Ends to Target - 8/9 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football - PPR Draft Strategy: Rounds 1 and 2 - 7/27 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football: Doug Baldwin's Value - 7/25 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football: Chris Hogan's Value - 7/18 (Chet)
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2018 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule: Tight Ends - 7/11 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule: Wide Receivers - 7/6 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule: Running Backs - 7/5 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule: Quarterbacks - 7/4 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Tight Ends Better Than ADP - 6/29 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Wide Receivers Better Than ADP - 6/28 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Target Shares - 6/22 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Points Per Game - 6/13 (Chet)
2018 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator - 6/2
2018 Fantasy Football Value Players - 5/25 (Chet)
2017 Fantasy Football Quarterback Look-Back - 1/28 (Walt)
2018 Fantasy Football: Running Backs with the Most Carries - 1/28 (Walt)
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