Eagles Fantasy Football Week 2 Outlook: Start Jalen Hurts, Stay Away From Backs like Kenneth Gainwell & D’Andre Swift
The second week of the NFL season kicks off with an intriguing battle between the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles. Philly is coming off a road win over the New England Patriots, while the Vikings took a surprising home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Eagles racked up just 251 total yards of offense in the opener. Let’s take a look who performed well on the offensive side of the ball and see who might be worth a start this coming week. We’ll focus on the quarterback and running back positions here.
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Jalen Hurts Fantasy Outlook
Hurts completed 66% of his passes (22-of-33), but threw for only 170 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked three times and also lost a fumble.
Hurts attempted nine rushes, gaining 37 yards. His long rush was 14 yards.
Hurts’ performance against the Patriots certainly wasn’t a vintage one for the MVP runner-up in 2022. He now will go against a Vikings’ defense that allowed just 242 yards to the Buccaneers. Minnesota had 169 net passing yards and only 73 rushing yards on 33 attempts. The Vikings had one sack and did not force a turnover.
Hurts and the Eagles faced off against the Vikings in the second week of the 2022 season. Hurts completed 26 of his 31 pass attempts for 333 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He ran 11 times for 57 yards and two scores. Hurts was sacked three times.
Hurts should have just about his full complement of offensive players around him on Thursday, with only running back Kenneth Gainwell on the injury report.
Even after a down week 1, Hurts is the No. 3 ranked quarterback in FantasySP’s week 2 quarterback projections, behind only Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Hurts is projected to throw 32 times, completing 21 for 197 yards, with 1.2 touchdowns and 0.2 interceptions. He’s also projected at 42 yards and 0.4 touchdowns on the ground.
Kenneth Gainwell Fantasy Outlook
I attempted to project how the Eagles’ running back room would play out in week 1 after listing four starters at the position and failed miserably. Gainwell started and far outplayed any other back on the roster with 41 offensive snaps played.
Gainwell finished with 14 attempts and 54 rushing yards, with a long run of 16 yards. He added four receptions for 20 yards. His 20 touches doubled any other player on the team.
He’s dealing with a rib injury, but didn’t practice on Monday or Tuesday, which doesn’t bode well for a Thursday game. If he’s able to practice on Wednesday, there’s a chance he plays against Minnesota, but it will likely be in a limited fashion.
D’Andre Swift Fantasy Outlook
Swift is who I expected to earn the most touches in week 1, but that was far from the case. Swift attempted just one run, with it going for 3 yards. He was targeted twice as a receiver, catching one for 0 yards.
Swift played just 19 offensive snaps, which was under 30% of the offensive plays. He’s likely to have an expanded role if Gainwell misses Thursday’s game, but the stats from the opener definitely clouds that thought.
Boston Scott Fantasy Outlook
Scott was the third Eagles’ running back to play in week 1. He got two total touches, with one rush for 3 yards and one catch for 7 yards.
Scott was on the field for just eight offensive snaps. He played nearly double as many snaps on special teams. Like Swift, Scott could have a bigger role if Gainwell can’t go this week, but the outlook isn’t super bright either way.
Rashaad Penny Fantasy Outlook
Penny is a guy I expected to serve as Philadelphia’s backup for the opening week. He was a healthy scratch instead.
Coach Nick Sirianni basically said Penny was the odd man out in the running game against the Pats. He could be active for week 2 if Penny is out or even limited.
Who Should I Start?
One down week is not enough to turn me against starting Hurts. He was one of the first quarterbacks drafted this fall, and owners shouldn’t bail after one week. His strong showing against Minnesota in 2022 is enough reason to start him in week 2.
As for the Eagles’ running back room, the week 1 surprise workload scared me off anyone in that room. With Gainwell being banged up, it’s even more unclear as to how the touches might be distributed.
If Gainwell is out, my guess is on Swift getting the start and the most touches, but based on how week 1 looked, I also wouldn’t be surprised if Swift, Penny and Scott split carries and touches pretty evenly.
I’m staying away from any of the Eagles’ running backs until we get some better clarity on how exactly things will look on a week-to-week basis.
