Eagles' Dallas Goedert Placed on IR | Fantasy Outlooks for Week 14 and Beyond for Grant Calcaterra, DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Jalen Hurts, Saqon Barkley and More
Analyzing the Eagles' offense after Dallas Goedert was placed on IR.
The Philadelphia Eagles are having a great season, but it’s been a frustrating year for tight end Dallas Goedert.
He’s played just nine games so far, and was placed on injured reserve this week because of a knee injury. He could return in week 18, but the Eagles will have to play without him the next four weeks at least.
Let’s take a look at the Eagles’ offense and see if any fantasy players are worth adding with Goedert out.
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Goedert’s Numbers
In his nine games, Goedert has 441 yards and two touchdowns on 38 receptions and 46 targets.
Excluding week 6, when he left early with an injury, Goedert has at least three targets in every game, including five or more in five contests. He’s had at least four catches in five contests.
Goedert only has topped 50 yards three times, but he’s been a good third option in the passing game behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. So who might step up or be more involved with Goedert out?
Philadelphia Fantasy Outlooks
Let’s start with Brown and Smith because we already mentioned them. Both are fantasy wideouts who are owned in every league, and they are started in most of those when healthy. Both have dealt with injuries this season though.
In nine games, Brown has 793 yards and four scores on 44 catches and 62 targets. Since missing weeks 2-4, Brown only has finished under 65 yards once. He has 349 yards and a score across 21 grabs and 28 targets the past four games.
Smith has missed the past two games with an injury, but is back this week. In nine games, Smith has 516 yards and four touchdowns across 41 grabs and 56 targets. He has six games over 60 receiving yards, but hasn’t topped 90 yet - he’s gotten six or more targets in all but three of his games.
Brown is a must-start fantasy player at this point, and is the Eagles’ top fantasy pass catcher, regardless of who is playing or healthy. Smith is closer to the flex line, but I still think he’s on the right side of things most weeks.
In week 14, the Eagles play the Panthers. It’s actually a slightly below-average matchup for the Eagles’ wideouts. Smith is off the injury report completely, so he should be a full go. With Goedert out, I’m a fan of starting Smith, even in a bit tougher matchup. Brown needs to be starting, and is most likely to be the team’s top fantasy scorer from the wideout or tight end spots.
Grant Calcaterra is the new starting tight end for Philly. Across 12 games, Calcaterra has 216 yards, but no scores, on 17 catches and 20 targets.
Calcaterra has had a couple of decent showings this season. He went for 67 yards on four catches and targets in week 6. Calcaterra went for 58 yards on three grabs and targets in week 8 and had another 30 yards on five receptions and targets in week 9 - those last two outings came with Goedert out of the lineup.
Calcaterra isn’t a huge fantasy asset at this point, but with only Brown and Smith as proven pass catcher on the team, there’s certainly room for Calcaterra to step up and make a difference. His matchup against the Panthers is favorable.
In a week where six teams are on bye, and several other guys are hurt, Calcaterra is definitely on the list of potential streaming options in all league types. I’d have to see your other options before making a call, but Calcaterra is probably in a better matchup than most, so he’ll definitely get some starting nods.
Be sure to use the FantasySP start/sit tool for any decisions involving Calcaterra (and any other fantasy players).
There’s really no other pass catchers that stand out right now.
Jahan Dotson is barely over 100 yards on the season despite playing in 12 games and being the No. 3 wideout (at worst) every week. No other TE or WR is even over 100 yards, which is even more reason to play Brown, Smith and potentially Calcaterra.
It goes without saying that Saqon Barkley should be in fantasy starting lineups. He’s the top fantasy back this season, and should be in line for a monster week 14 against Carolina.
I could see the Eagles maybe utilizing the run game even more with Goedert out, and they especially will if they get out to a big lead. I think that makes backup RB Kenneth Gainwell a sneaky sleeper fantasy starter this week. He’s obviously a risky pick, but in a pinch, wouldn’t be the worst starting option - and I think he’s a pretty decent one the deeper a league gets.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts loses a pass catcher with Goedert out, but with Brown, Smith, Calcaterra, Barkley and the QB’s own running abilities, you don’t have to worry about Hurts’ fantasy outlook. If anything, the injury to Goedert probably helps Hurts, because he might run a few more times.
Keep an eye on the Eagles’ box scores to see if anyone steps up down the stretch, but Barkley, Hurts, Brown, Smith and Calcaterra should lead the way and do most of the heavy lifting.