Eagles Running Back Fantasy Football Week 1 Outlook: Kenneth Gainwell vs. Rashaad Penny vs. Boston Scott vs. D'Andre Swift

The Philadelphia Eagles hope to continue the success they built in 2022 after making their way to the Super Bowl. The Eagles open the 2023 season on the road against the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon.

The Eagles made some headlines earlier in the week when they released their unofficial depth chart, listing four running backs as starters. Kenneth Gainwell, Rashaad Penny, Boston Scott and D’Andre Swift make up that four-back list.

Our week 1 running back projections have Swift, Gainwell and Penny ranked in the top 65, so which ones are going to make the biggest impact for fantasy owners? Let’s try and figure that out.

Sync your league with the Fantasy Assistant to get rankings, waiver help, trade suggestions, optimal lineups, and more. Not sure Who You Should Start? We can help. Utilize our fantasy football trade analyzer for trades.

D’Andre Swift Week 1 Outlook & Projection

Swift appeared like he’d become the lead back for Philly after getting traded there from the Detroit Lions. While he produced three seasons with 850 or more total yards, he’s still fallen short of the lofty expectations fantasy owners have set for him each season.

Swift has never had over 650 rushing yards in a single season, but his ability to be a threat as a receiver is what captivates fantasy owners everywhere. He’s even served as a receiver throughout the Eagles’ preparation for the season.

He’s remained fairly healthy, playing 13 or 14 games in each season in his three-year career. With Detroit a year ago, he attempted over five rushes in just eight of his 14 games. While listing four starters at the running back position doesn’t give anyone a sense as to how the touches might shake out this season, it seems likely that Swift won’t be a workhorse back that’s up around 15 totes a game. 

With that being said, teams don’t often trade for players who won’t be serving meaningful roles on the team. I’d say Swift has the highest likelihood of being the team’s leader in touches on a per game basis.

For week 1, our projections have Swift at six attempts, 29 yards and 0.3 touchdowns. As a receiver, he’s at 4 targets, 2.8 catches, 22 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.

Kenneth Gainwell Week 1 Outlook & Projection

Gainwell was a part of the Eagles’ rushing attack in 2022, carrying the ball 53 times for 240 yards and four scores. He was the most targeted running back in the passing game on the team, catching 23 of the 29 throws his way for 169 yards.

Gainwell never played in more than 42% of the team’s offensive snaps in any of the 17 games he participated in. He had over five carries in just one game. His most rushing yards in a game was 39.

Gainwell is ranked as the second-best Philly back for week 1, with projections of 7 rushing attempts, 28 yards and 0.2 touchdowns to go along with 2 targets in the passing game, 1.6 catches, 10 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.

Rashaad Penny Week 1 Outlook

Penny is the final ranked Eagles’ running back in our projections. He spent the first five years of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. He was more of a complementary offensive piece while there, with only one season over 500 yards from scrimmage.

He played in just five games in 2022, but showed some big-time value. He finished with over 50 rushing yards in all but one of those contests. He put together a monster, 17-attempt, 151-yard, 2-touchdown performance against the Detroit Lions in week 4 of the season before getting hurt in week 5 and missing the remainder of the season with a broken fibula.

Penny is projected at seven rushing attempts, 29 yards and 0.2 touchdowns. He’s not expected to be a big part in the passing game, with only one target projected.

Boston Scott Week 1 Outlook & Projection

Scott finished behind Gainwell in rushing yards (217) and touchdowns (3) during the Eagles’ 2022 season. He didn’t make nearly the same impact as a receiver, with just five catches on six targets for 15 yards.

Scott played in 15 games, tallying five or more carries in five contests. He topped 50 rushing yards only once.

Scott is projected at 1.7 carries, 7.9 yards and 0.1 touchdowns as a rusher, while at 0.3 receptions and 1.1 yards as a receiver.

Who Do I Start Week 1?

While the Eagles list all four of the running backs on the active roster as starters, I really only see Swift and Penny as getting enough touches to consider as possible starters. I believe Swift will end up putting up numbers equivalent to a starting running back, with Penny also getting into the act. Gainwell and Scott should see the field, but I don’t think they’ll have over five touches unless the game turns into a rout.

While 96% of leagues are being shown as ones that own Swift, only 32% of owners are starting him. He’s the best option among the four to start at running back, and I’d be fine with owners starting him as their last back or flex player. I like him to outproduce his point projection against a New England defense that did pretty well against opposing backs a season ago.

Penny is owned in 88% of leagues and started in only 11%. I’d side with most owners and avoid Penny until we get a better idea of how the touches are distributed between the four backs. I could see Penny, Gainwell and Scott divvying up whatever looks Swift doesn’t get, and needing a touchdown to produce a meaningful fantasy score, that won’t be enough for my starting lineup.

Just 2% of the overall 44% that own Gainwell are starting him this week. Scott is owned in 1% of leagues and not being started. I’m avoiding both guys as well in my starting lineups, and probably would keep them off my roster completely unless there’s an injury to Swift or Penny.

All in all, I see the Eagles listing all four backs as a decoy to force opponents to have to prepare for them all. Swift should become the team’s top back, backed up by Penny. That leaves Gainwell and Scott to gather a couple looks a game, but nothing that’s worthy of your fantasy team.