It’s been a strange year for Philadelphia Eagles ownership in fantasy football. Jalen Hurts’ value has truly been tush push merchantry, A.J. Brown is spending more time reading books than catching passes, and Saquon Barkley has looked more human than demigod. If you’re an Eagles fan, you’re 2-0 and not complaining. But if you’re an Eagles fantasy owner, you might be panicking. Philly’s WR2, DeVonta Smith, has been an interesting case.
Let’s look at Smith’s stats and decide what to do with him in Week 3.
Year-to-Date Analysis
It was an uninspiring Week 1 for Smith. He garnered only three targets, catching all three for 16 total yards. After an explosive first half of offense, the game ground to a halt, and he was unable to make a meaningful contribution. It was another grind of a game in Week 2 against the Chiefs, but Smith was able to contribute a bit more. The 26-year-old had four catches on six targets for 53 total yards. Not a huge week, but 9.3 PPR points sure beats 4.6. Much of that production came on this deep catch.
Week 3 in fantasy football is the perfect time to overreact. A fluky Week 1 performance, you can wave your hand and call it an outlier. Now that there’s an extra game of sample size to play with, your panic takes root. It doesn’t help that Smith and the Eagles have to face a Los Angeles Rams team that has allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards and only one score through the air.
The Verdict
If you can afford to, I would bench Smith for other WR/flex options. This Philly passing game has been rough to start the year, and I wouldn’t count on it getting better against a strong Rams defense.
Don’t completely panic and trade Smith for subpar value. But it’s best to let him figure it out while on your bench, not in your starting lineup.
