2015 Fantasy Recap
The 2015 season just wasn’t a great one for Eagles fans. The team finished just 7-9, which led to the end of Chip Kelly’s abysmal rain with the franchise. From Sam Bradford never being able to stay healthy to DeMarco Murray completely underachieving in an offense that he should’ve never been a part of, Philly was just awful from a fantasy standpoint. They have a ton of young talent, especially with their wide receivers, so the sky is the limit for this franchise in the future but like everyone else, they vastly underachieved last year. Sadly, their defense wasn’t much better in 2015, finishing towards the bottom of the fantasy rankings.
Key Additions and Losses
Additions:
Losses:
- DeMarco Murray
- Kiko Alonso
- Byron Maxwell
QuarterBack Fantasy Outlook
The Eagles have way too much money wrapped up in a group of subpar quarterbacks in my opinion. Sadly, I’m not even sure who will be the starter come Week 1 between Bradford and rookie Carson Wentz. Last season, Bradford was decent for Philly, throwing for 3,725 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions but he wasn’t too happy this offseason when the team elected to draft a quarterback with their first pick.
Wentz is obviously the quarterback of the future for the Eagles and will more than likely be playing at some point this season. Over his career at North Dakota State, he completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 5,115 yards, 45 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Philadelphia also added Chase Daniel to the mix of quarterbacks, so who knows what the 2016 season holds for this squad.
Grade: C-
 Running Back Fantasy Outlook
The running back options for the Eagles could be even worse from a fantasy standpoint this year than last season. Most likely Ryan Matthews will be getting the first-team reps for the team but the guy is one of the most injury-plagued players in all of the NFL. Matthews has actually only rushed for a 1,000+ yards in just two of his six seasons and most likely won’t get there again this year.
The other option that Philadelphia has at their disposal is the dynamic pass catching back Darren Sproles. Sproles has the ability to be a big-time fantasy threat when utilized right, so keep him on your radar as a late-round draft pick. Last season, he caught 55 passes for 388 yards and four totals touchdowns for the Eagles. With Murray now a Titan, both Matthews and Sproles must step up for Philly but I don’t see either of them being a major factor for our fantasy teams this season.
Grade:Â Â C-
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
Philadelphia actually has one of the youngest wide receiver groups in the league with guys such as Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff. This offseason, the team also brought in both Rueben Randle and Chris Givens, so there will be plenty of options on the field. Matthews is by far one of the best players on this entire team and I could see him having a career season in 2016. Last season, he caught 85 passes on 126 targets for 997 yards and eight touchdowns.
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I personally really like the addition of both Randle and Givens to this lineup because they do bring things to the franchise that was much needed. If Randle can figure out how to not drop so many passes, then he could see a big season coming his way with the Eagles. I personally think Agholor has the highest upside of any of the receivers outside of Matthews and could be a late-round sleeper pick in you fantasy drafts this season.
Grade:Â Â C+
Tight End Fantasy Outlook
There’s honestly not much to say about the tight ends on this Eagles’ squad. They’ve got two highly capable guys, who have done nothing but underperform their entire careers with Brent Celek and Zach Ertz. Ertz just oozes talent but absolutely can’t stay healthy even if his life depended on. In his first three seasons, he hasn’t played any more than six games for Philly and just can’t be trusted to be our TE1 going into Week 1 of the upcoming season. Last year, Ertz did have his best season for the Eagles, catching 75 passes for 853 yards and two touchdowns. If he makes it through the offseason without getting injured, Ertz is worth a late-round stash for our fantasy teams at best.
Grade: C-
Defensive Fantasy Outlook
There is only one good aspect to owning the Eagles defense from a fantasy standpoint and that’s their exciting special teams. If it wasn’t for guys such as Sproles, Philadelphia would’ve probably had the worst overall fantasy defense in 2015. Last season, they only managed to score 91 total fantasy points and finished towards the bottom of the rankings. As of right now, ESPN has the Eagles ranked as the 29th best defense to draft, making them a matchup-based play only. I just don’t see the additions of McLeod and McKelvin having much of an impact this year, so I’ve got very little hope in the Eagles for 2016.
Grade:Â D+
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