Philadelphia

Eagles

Brown was listed as a DNP for Wednesday during the team’s walkthrough, and looks like he won’t be able to get a practice in a day later. The star wideout missed Monday’s game against the Falcons with his hamstring strain, and all signs point to the 27-year-old missing Week 3 against the Saints.

The Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday so Brown’s status is only an estimation. ESPN’s Lisa Salters reported on Monday that Brown is expected to miss multiple weeks, so it’s safe to assume Brown would not have taken part in a full practice and isn’t likely to see the field this week. Rookie wideout Johnny Wilson also missed practice with a hamstring injury. Britain Covey, who caught all six of his targets for 26 yards in Week 2, appears set to take on another sizable workload this week.

The two touches come after the veteran change of pace back saw just one touch in Week 1, clearly indicating a workhorse situation for offseason acquisition Saquon Barkley. Gainwell likely requires an injury to Barkley to return any fantasy value moving forward.

Most were expecting the recent addition to see more usage in the absence of A.J. Brown. Ultimately, the team elected to move DeVonta Smith into a heavier perimeter snap rate while playing Britain Covey in the slot. Dotson has a long way to go to regain any semblance of fantasy value after joining the Eagles just before the start of the 2024 regular season.

Covey stepped into a secondary role in the absence of alpha wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown’s absence shifted DeVonta Smith into heavier perimeter snaps, which paved the way for Covey to see the field in a slot wide receiver role. His fantasy value likely remains low considering a low aDOT and modest snap rate, meaning Brown managers can do better to make up for his lost production in the immediate future.

That now makes just nine total targets for the veteran tight end through two games, with fantasy managers likely looking for more production in a Week 2 game played without their alpha wide receiver in A.J. Brown. It will be tough for a tight end with a minimal red zone role to return consistent production, particularly if he’s not seeing enough volume between the 20s.

Smith’s 10 targets handily led the team on a night alpha wide receiver A.J. Brown was held out due to a hamstring injury. Sideline reporting indicated that Brown could miss multiple games with the ailment, putting Smith in a solid position to rack up volume through the air for the next game or two. He was able to fight through tough coverage from A.J. Terrell for most of the night, another good sign for his fantasy value in the immediate future.

Barkley was having a solid game as he commanded the backfield opportunities for the Eagles. That is, until a costly drop on a routine pass to the flat on third down with under two minutes remaining in the game. The Eagles would have been able to take a knee to end the game while up three points. Instead, they settled for a field goal before giving the ball back to Kirk Cousins with no timeouts. Cousins drove the field in just over a minute and tossed the go-ahead touchdown to Drake London with 34 seconds remaining. Even with the game changing drop, Barkley saw 27 of 29 running back opportunities, ceding just two carries on the opening drive to backup Kenneth Walker. His fantasy value remains high heading into a Week 3 matchup with the 2-0 Saints.

Hurts and the Eagles seemed to be in control of the game late but a dropped pass from running back Saquon Barkley on third down with under two minutes to play gave the ball back to the Falcons with Philadelphia up by six points. Had Barkley come down with a routine reception for the first down, the Eagles would have been able to ice the game as the Falcons were out of timeouts. The Eagles fall to 1-1 on the season after a shootout win over the Packers in Week 1. The big story of this one was the return of the tush push and the rushing upside for Hurts after a relatively modest 33 yards on the ground to open the season. Up next for the Eagles is a road matchup against one of the more surprising teams to start the year in the Saints.

Brown’s hamstring injury appears to be much worse than initially reported this week, going from questionable to out in Week 2 before Salters reported that the All-Pro wide receiver is now expected to miss multiple weeks with the ailment. DeVonta Smith will serve as the team’s top pass-catcher while Brown is out, with tight end Dallas Goedert also expected to see additional opportunities. Rookie Johnny Wilson, newcomer Jahan Dotson, and Britain Covey also figure to see more opportunities.