Good Luck Deciphering Eagles Backfield Ahead Of Patriots Opener
Philadelphia's offensive coordinator didn't offer much insight
The Eagles have a stacked backfield, which makes things tough for fantasy owners heading into Week 1 against the New England Patriots at Gilette Stadium.
Philadelphia signed Rashaad Penny and traded for D’Andre Swift in the offseason to replace Miles Sanders, who signed with the Carolina Panthers. The duo adds to a backfield that includes Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott, who each still had roles in the offense along with Jalen Hurts’ designed runs.
Sanders finished as the RB13 last season in Yahoo leagues, and Philadelphia should continue to be a formidable rushing unit. The question is which running back do you want?
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This might be a tough choice if you went with a zero RB or hero RB build since these backs generally went in the middle rounds of drafts. Swift does go the highest at 73rd overall in Yahoo leagues, and if your league still hasn’t drafted by Thursday night, the question is if he is worth the investment, or do you wait and get value with Gainwell and Scott?
New England was 11th in rush EPA last season and the unit doesn’t have a ton of speed. It also was 17th in fantasy points allowed to running backs, so it is a defense to potentially target for running backs.
A quick answer to see who to target would be the depth chart, but the Eagles’ official website Thursday listed all four running backs first on the depth chart. Head coach Nick Siranni might want to keep things close to the chest against Bill Belichick, but that doesn’t do us any favors.
Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson was asked if the team had a plan at running back for this Sunday.
“We obviously talk about that. Coach (Jemal) Singleton does a great job of getting all those guys the reps that they need to be ready to go out there and perform,” Johnson told reporters, per team video. “But it is a little bit of feel, as well. And I talked about adaptability and just trying to create different matchups. A little bit depends on the flow of the game, but we’re confident in all of those guys can go out there and help us.”
Again, no help for us at all.
Penny played the first two preseason games, and the other three backs played at least one preseason game, so that likely will be the workload the Eagles will roll out.
Swift, Penny and Gainwell are capable in the passing game, and Scott tends to be used in the goalline, so Scott isn’t someone worth considering when everyone is healthy, but he is a worry to vulture touchdowns, along with Hurts.
The point is this will be a tough backfield to figure out, but if you are able to find the right answer, that could prove to be a big leg up for your fantasy team.
