The Philadelphia Eagles are 4-1, but the defending champions are looking much more vulnerable than last season, particularly on offense.
A.J. Brown has expressed his frustration with his lack of usage through five games. Is the 28-year-old receiver playing in Week 6 when the Eagles take on the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football?
What’s the Latest on A.J. Brown’s Status?
Yes, Brown is playing tonight against the Giants. He wasn’t listed on Philadelphia’s injury report this week, and his early-season struggles haven’t been the result of an injury. Instead, it’s due to a lack of involvement and high-quality targets.
Through five games this season, Brown has caught 19 passes on 36 targets for just 194 yards and one touchdown. For reference, through five games last year, Brown had 22 receptions on 34 targets for 444 yards and three touchdowns. Last season, Brown totaled 67 receptions, 1,079 yards, and seven touchdowns across 13 games.
According to PFSN’s WR Impact grade, Brown is currently the 63rd-best wide receiver in the NFL with a 68.9 grade. For reference, that puts him behind Tennessee Titans rookie Elic Ayomanor (69.8), New Orleans Saints WR Brandin Cooks (70.4), and Chicago Bears WR Olamide Zaccheaus (70.8) among others.
Jalen Hurts and Brown will likely get on the same page in time, but it remains to be seen when that will happen.
Eagles’ Fantasy Outlook vs. Giants
Jalen Hurts
That’s now three straight multi-TD pass games for Hurts, a nice spike in production with his right arm after not throwing a single touchdown pass through the first two weeks of the season, but the rushing production disappeared into thin air on Sunday.
Two carries. Three yards. This season, 44.3% of his rushing fantasy points have come when the Eagles are inside the opponents’ five-yard line, and while those snaps are valuable, it’s no lock that you’re getting a ton of those snaps in any given game.
As a fantasy option, I really don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Yes, when the rushing dries up, it’s scary, but the fact that 27 of his 37 targets (73%) against the Broncos went to one of his top three pass catchers suggests we have enough paths to points to be comfortable with Hurts maintaining his Tier 1 title.
In his lone game against these G-Men last season, he completed 10-of-14 passes for 114 yards and a score while also rushing in a pair of touchdowns. He’s my QB2 this week, and I think you’re starting your Week 6 with a big number on Thursday.
Saquon Barkley
Everything worked away from Saquon Barkley last week against the Broncos. Philadelphia had the ball for less than 26 minutes, couldn’t extend drives (two-of-11 on third down), and nearly half (48.6%) of Jalen Hurts’ targets went to his top two receivers.
That’s the world in which Barkley can fail. That’s the hyper-niche situation where one of the premier talents in this game can fall flat. It didn’t happen. He scored from 47 yards out on a pass, his first 20-yard gain of the season and a reminder of what he was doing weekly just a season ago.
I talked about it last week, and I’m not moving off of it: I’m just as in on Barkley’s profile now as I was two months ago. He’s caught 17 passes already (33 last season), and I trust the efficiency on the ground to recover, something that would put him back in the top five discussion at the position.
There is some “general soreness” for Philly’s bellcow entering this short week, so make sure you’re by your phone as we near kickoff, but as long as he plays, you play him and feel great about it.
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith
There is one receiver with more than one game of 8+ targets and under 45 receiving yards this season, and it’s Brown.
With three.
The drama is high in the City of Brotherly Love after the Eagles lost their first game of the season. There was a bomb where it looked like Brown may have stopped a bit early on the route, a highlight that is making the rounds, given the posts he’s had recently across his platforms.
He still impacted the game, just not so much in the box score. The Broncos elected to put Patrick Surtain on him, and that opened up DeVonta Smith for his best game of this season. Brown even got the better of a matchup with the reigning DPOY in a spot, but it resulted in a penalty that eventually yielded a Dallas Goedert two-yard score.
We don’t get points for that, but the Eagles did, and that’s a start. Throwing in Brown’s direction resulted in a positive play for the offense, and I hope that carries over into a matchup that was Brown-centric in 2021.
Against the G-Men last year, Brown scored from 41 yards out and was responsible for 89 of his 114 passing yards. I think I speak for the entire community in saying that we would take that in a heartbeat right now.
We did see Brown round into form when it mattered most last season (a touchdown in each of his final three regular-season games before scoring in both the NFC Title game and Super Bowl), and that’s the hope here.
There’s really nothing you can do. You’re not selling him for pennies on the dollar, and you’re not benching him for a Calvin Ridley type that gets more targets, but from a very questionable source. You made your bed, and you’re sleeping in it. If you want out of the Eagles’ passing game, make a note of it before your 2026 draft, but for now, you’re not committed and will ride this out.
As for Smith, I struggle to say anything is truly “sticky” when it comes to this Philadelphia passing attack, if for no other reason than we are dealing with small sample size issues every week. That said, I liked what I saw from Smith against the Broncos on Sunday.
The 8-114-0 stat line is nice, but how about a season-high slot route rate (66.7%)? How about seeing eight of 10 targets come less than 10 yards downfield?How about paying off the one deep shot that was thrown his way?
It’s just one data point, but if the Eagles plan on using Smith more as a get-him-in-space-and-watch type of receiver, I think there’s a path for him to retain weekly value, something that is hard if your primary role is running downfield in a low-volume offense. One more week like this and I’ll have him projected to lead this receiver room in points. As it is, both he and Brown are ranked as low-end WR2s for me in a great matchup.