After being added to the injury report for the first time this week, how should fantasy managers react to the playing status of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown?
Here is the latest on A.J. Brown’s injury situation as Week 2 approaches.
Update: A.J. Brown has been downgraded to out
Will A.J. Brown Play in Week 2 vs. the Atlanta Falcons?
Brown was a late add to the Eagles’ injury report this week, showing up as a limited participant in Friday’s practice due to a hamstring issue.
Brown’s appearance on the injury report was a surprise and no doubt has the Eagles, as well as fantasy managers, scrambling to devise a Plan B in case he is unable to play.
Many view Brown’s inclusion in the injury report as a disturbing sign that something has occurred that could be a problem for this weekend.
What may be good news regarding Brown’s situation is that the Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. If the injury isn’t serious, an extra day could allow Brown to rest his hamstring and make him available for Week 2.
Saturday Update: Brown did not participate in practice on Saturday, which is not exactly a surprise. Neither is the fact that he drew a questionable tag.
Head coach Nick Sirianni said Brown’s hamstring got “a little tight” at Friday’s practice. While still a concern, this is better than if Brown outright strained the muscle.
Reading the tea leaves, Brown looks to be on the wrong side of questionable, but there’s definitely a chance he plays.
Fantasy managers on Sleeper would be well-served utilizing the auto-sub feature. Those not on Sleeper need to have a contingency plan in place in the event Brown is ruled out.
If you want to roll the dice, you can wait until Monday night inactives. If Brown doesn’t play, you can throw him on IR and hope someone is available to grab and start. The better course of action would be to grab someone now. Depending on your alternatives, you could play it safe and sit Brown regardless.
– Jason Katz, PFN Fantasy Analyst.
Sunday Update: After a sloppy 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, the Eagles will attempt to clean things up without Brown as WR1.
Before the start of the regular season, Eagles general manager acquired Jahan Dotson from the Washington Commanders in exchange for a third-round pick. Now Dotson will be elevated into a bigger role in Week 2.
In two career games against the Falcons, Dotson has zero receptions on two targets. In his Eagles debut at Lincoln Financial Field, Dotson will need to perform at a much higher level.
Jalen Hurts will likely lean on DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Saquon Barkley as his top three targets in the passing game. Dotson will receive more targets in Week 2, but it’ll be tough to fill the void created by Brown’s absence.
– Anthony DiBona, PFN Analyst.
Should You Start A.J. Brown in Fantasy Lineups?
Brown is coming off a solid performance in Week 1 vs. the Packers, catching five passes (on a team-high 10 targets) for 119 yards and a 67-yard touchdown reception. He finished with 22.9 fantasy points, Brown’s fourth-highest scoring game since the start of last season.
Brown is ranked as WR5 in the Pro Football Network’s Fantasy Rankings, so his importance for fantasy managers and their lineups is pretty high. The fact that the Eagles do play on Monday can also be a detriment for fantasy managers, who may have to make a decision on Brown’s playing status before the Eagles officially make that call.
Brown has been the Eagles’ top receiver since coming to the team before the 2022 season. Over his first two seasons with the Eagles, he has combined to catch 194 passes for nearly 3,000 yards (2,952) and 18 touchdown receptions. And let’s not forget, Brown had an NFL-record streak of six straight games with at least 125 receiving yards in 2023.
He is also an obvious big-play threat, averaging almost 16 yards per reception (15.8) for his career.
Brown has only faced the Falcons once in his career, and it came back in his rookie season of 2019 with the Tennessee Titans. But it was memorable, as he caught a pair of touchdown passes, the first two touchdowns of his career.
Who Are the Other Fantasy Options To Consider on the Eagles?
After Brown, the Eagles’ wide receiver core isn’t strong at the moment. Smith is still a quality receiver, with seven catches for 84 yards in Week 1 (15.4 fantasy points).
But no other wide receiver had a catch for the Eagles in Week 1, including Dotson, who was targeted just once, despite being on the field for 42% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps.
Kyle Soppe’s Fantasy Outlook for Brown and Smith
A.J. Brown: If you’re of the belief that the Philadelphia collapse last season was the result of a banged-up Hurts and that the Eagles are a true threat to win the conference this season with him healthy, Brown has a path to be the top-scoring receiver in the sport.
The star receiver scored 22.9 PPR points against the Packers, the seventh time in the Eagles’ past 10 wins in which Brown has cleared 18.5 fantasy points. The 67-yard touchdown obviously made his day, but the 34.5% target share is what I like to see.
The only real concern with Brown this preseason was surrounding his volume with Barkley in town. But if he is going to dominate the looks like this, there’s very little risk.
The Falcons ranked 25th in pressure rate last season, and if they can’t speed Hurts up, Brown could improve upon the gaudy stats he put up last week.
Brown’s splits, 2023:
- When Hurts was pressured: 4.1% points under expectation, 23.6% target share
- When Hurts wasn’t pressured: 13.3% points over expectation, 33.5% target share
DeVonta Smith: The 15.4 points Smith gave you against the Packers will certainly work, but I do worry about his mean expectation living up to the lineup lock status that he has assumed for much of his career.
Including last week, based on where his targets come on the field, Smith’s point expectation has checked in under 13.5 points in nine of his past 11 games.
Now, an explosive player like this is more than capable of overachieving, but you need to be aware that the floor could fall out from under him a little easier than players that were in his ADP range, like DJ Moore or DK Metcalf.
I’m not suggesting that you bench Smith. I still have him ranked as a starter because getting exposure to an offense with an implied point total like this is still a good bet. I just want you to be aware that he’s not a set-it-and-forget-it type.