There are slow starts in fantasy football, and then there’s how Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown opened his 2025 campaign. After a dismal Week 1 and a disappointing Week 2, fantasy managers who roster the star are beginning to panic. With concern now reaching a fever pitch, what should you do with A.J. Brown in fantasy football when setting Week 3 lineups?
What to do with A.J. Brown in fantasy?
Fantasy football players typically selected A.J. Brown in the mid-to-late second or early third round of drafts with the assumption the star would once again flirt with WR1-caliber production as a staple of lineups. After all, everyone knows how talented the 28-year-old is after posting 17 FPPG or more in three of six prior seasons and coming up just shy of that mark with 16.7 FPPG in 2024. As the unquestioned top target in the Eagles’ passing game, Brown brings both physicality and deep-threat ability to the picture as one of the best man-coverage beaters in the sport.
However, sometimes even the best talents struggle — Brown is no exception. He was shockingly iced out of Philadelphia’s game plan in Week 1 with just a single eight-yard catch in the fourth quarter, which was actually his first target of the contest. In Week 2, he saw more typical volume with eight total targets but brought in just five of those looks for 27 yards. After posting PPR point totals of 1.8 and 7.7 in fantasy football to begin 2025, the panic meter continues rising for managers who roster the Eagles star.
The explanation of said struggles remains uncertain. The Dallas Cowboys exclusively played zone coverage against Philly in Week 1, which Brown doesn’t truly excel at beating. He also dealt with a hamstring issue during training camp which caused him to miss significant time, and perhaps he still feels lingering effects of that issue. Plus, the team he plays for deploys one of the NFL’s most run-happy attacks as quarterback Jalen Hurts logged just 45 pass attempts through the first two weeks of action. The Eagles are 2-0 and show no sign of changing their offensive game plans unless forced to do so.
With a matchup against the Los Angeles Rams now on deck in Week 3, should fantasy football managers start or sit Brown in lineups?
The verdict
As mentioned earlier, the panic meter for fantasy players who roster A.J. Brown keeps rising heading into this Week 3 clash. After all, those who drafted him expected a solid floor with room for massive spike weeks when Hurts can find him for a deep touchdown. As things stand, the offense hasn’t even really had the chance to hit the long ball to this point. Running the football keeps working, and while the Eagles aren’t hanging massive outputs on the scoreboard, there’s not much reason to change things if they’re winning.
In fact, only two of Brown’s nine total targets came at a distance further downfield than 10 yards, and he rounded one of those in at a distance of just 11 yards. His one deep shot of 23 yards in Week 2 sailed out of bounds along the left sideline. However, he’s run a handful of go routes and rarely leaves the field for Philadelphia. In a matchup against a talented Rams offense called by Sean McVay in Week 3, there may be more of a need to throw the ball since the Eagles will face their toughest challenge yet.
We probably won’t find out whether Brown’s hamstring injury is still nagging at him, but every passing week gets him closer to full health even if he’s still dealing with lingering pain or tightness. Hurts made a point to throw him the ball last week, and it would be surprising to see Philadelphia’s top wideout frozen out of the game plan again as in Week 1. That outing was the exception to the norm, even in a low-volume passing offense like this one.
Brown may not post a 25-point game in Week 3 by any means, especially if he’s not at 100%. However, last week provided somewhat encouraging signs that he may not be cooked after all. Given the investment fantasy managers put in via an ADP in the first three rounds, he’s still worth starting in Week 3 if you don’t have a significantly better option. It’s totally fair to worry and bench him, but make sure the talent you replace him with makes sense. The big weeks will come eventually.
