Eagles vs Commanders Showdown DFS: EMac's Week 8 SNF Top-10

Ask The Sims anything about Eagles at Commanders:

Philadelphia Eagles Overview

The stink on this season is so bad and the injuries so many, here is the list of unavailable players: Jalen Hurts, RBs Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley, Dameon Pierce, Carson Steele, WRs DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Britain Covey and tackle Lane Johnson of course retired a couple weeks ago before things really went off the rails.

The defense is without cornerback Jonathan Jones and linebacker Jihaad Campbell, with a chance that Jakorian Bennett (IR-knee) is activated after practicing in full. Additionally Nolan Smith Jr. (concussion) did get in a full practice, so he could be available after missing Monday Night Football.

Quarterback

Tanner McKee will be making his fifth NFL start and third this season. In the last two weeks with him under center, the Eagles have put up 35 points and he is averaging 24.5 completions on 40 attempts for 213 yards, tossing a touchdown in each game with one interception.

Washington is allowing 254.0 passing yards per tilt, which is the fifth most in the league. Four different opposing signal-callers have tossed 3+ touchdowns, though the team did hold Daniel Jones scoreless in Week 4, while giving up only one aerial strike to Brock Purdy before last week’s bye.

Though the matchup is good, oddsmakers still have McKee for around 203.5 passing yards tonight and he is +225 to toss two touchdowns, with positive rushing yards being a coinflip. Across his four prior starts, he has seven rushing attempts for five yards.

The Commanders defense blitzes a lot, though it has not consistently resulted in quarterback takedowns or turnovers. This will ratchet up the pressue tonight for McKee.

Running Back

Saquon Barkley was clearly hobbled in in prime time, even before his brief appearance in the second half. He has indicated that he will play tonight and the he does not want to be traded, both of which are wild. He spent time in the medical tent in the first half with hamstring and back issues, though he did get his first touchdown of the season.

It really was ridiculous seeing him play on Monday Night Football while being visibly hampered after his first few touches, but then again the Philly medical staff and coaches so mishandled Hurts’ blood clot issues before, during and after the London game, it is not that surprising. (Editor: insert gif of flaming dumpster floating by in a flood).

Pierce did pick up the slack, though he is now out, so the RB2 will be Elijah Mitchell who saw his first action as an Eagle after being elevated from the practice squad. Jaydon Blue is likely to be the RB3 after languishing on the practice squad since he was claimed off waivers after Dallas cut him in the preseason.

Both Mitchell and Blue have salaries indicative of being the RB2, with the former at least having floated around the league for five seasons, with the latter arguably being more explosive at this point, but wearing out his welcome now on two teams as it has taken four backups to be banished to the IR before he has even had a hint of a chance at playing time.

We should be less worried about salary and more focused on who gets the touches after Barkley, who is projected for only 52 rushing and 13 receiving yards by the oddsmakers. If we use that as the source, and we should, Mitchell has a 26 yard rushing prop with no markets currently listed for Blue.

Wide Receivers

Rookie Makai Lemon and second-year UDFA Darius Cooper were each on the field for just over 90% of the offensive action, with Elijah Moore (33%) and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (55%) shoring up the rest of the wideout corps.

Lemon led the way with eight targets, giving him 14 in the two games, while Cooper had three and has five total from McKee. Brown had five looks with Moore getting two, so other than the first-rounder Lemon being the likely leader, the rest is up in the air (cwidt).

Tight Ends

Dallas Goedert is a priority play, having seven looks on Monday and 15 in total from McKee. We know that young and inexperienced quarterbacks tend to lean on the tight ends as the closest and biggest friendly options, plus Goedert also is the most accomplished ambulatory pass catcher still available.

Rookie Eli Stowers had the only other target to this position, though he played just 12 (18%) snaps in his Philadelphia debut, compared to Goedert 48 (73%), Johnny Mundt 16 (24%) and Grant Calcaterra eight (12%) who saw his first action after being on the IR all season.

Kickers and DST

The Eagles have just eight sacks on the season, which is the second fewest in the league, while Washington allows just over two per tilt. Philadelphia has three interceptions, but no fumble recoveries, which is also the lowest in the league and the Commanders have only one interception and one lost fumble, despite several games with backup quarterbacks.

Washington Commanders Overview

The Commanders have not escaped injuries as both lead wideout Terry McLaurin and running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt are on the IR, along with offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil. Wide receiver Treylon Burks was starting to get more involve, though now he is questionable with a foot issue. Backup tight end John Bates (shoulder) is also questionable.

On defense, several key rotational players are out for the front-seven, including linebackers Leo Chennal and Javontae Jean-Baptiste who are on the IR with lineman Jer’Zhan Newton, with Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw out this week as well. Though defensive end Charles Omenihu (groin/ankle) is expected to return after missing the last two games.

Quarterback

After missing two games with a hyper-extended left elbow, Jayden Daniels rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 5 overtime tie against the New York Giants and in Week 6 on Sunday Night Football, he tossed two touchdowns and piled up 300 yards in San Francisco during a 23-17 loss.

The elbow is going to be a concern for the remainder of the season and we saw him miss two different stretches with the same injury last year. He has had a week off and it is likely as healthy as he will be for the rest of the way.

Five of the seven quarterbacks to face the Eagles this season have thrown for multiple touchdowns, including Daniels in the opener. Second-year signal-caller Cam Ward and Matthew Stafford were the two that did not, though Ward rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Stafford put up 317 passing yards.

Running Back

Rachaad White had a 69% snaps share before the Week 7 bye, in the first game without Croskey-Merritt. Austin Ekeler had seven snaps (10%) and Jeremy McNichols logged 12 (18%) in his season debut.

Each of the backs is capable as a pass catcher, though Ekeler is coming off a torn Achilles and is at the end of his career, while McNichols has been a solid RB3/4 for his two-plus seasons in Washington.

To be clear, White is a core play and the clear leader, but we should not expect him to get every carry or target. He has a 58 yard combined rushing and receiving prop, while his backfield mates do not have available lines at this time.

Wide Receivers

Stefon Diggs is working through a hamstring issue, though he played in prime time and now has had two additional weeks of treatment, with no injury designation for tonight.

Philadelphia is among the most fantasy friendly defenses for wide receivers, though the NFL nomad has a relatively paltry 42.5 receiving yards and a +130 on o4.5 receptions, with the overs on both being appealing for Sunday Night Football SGP boosters.

Rookie Antonio Williams leads the position in offensive snaps, though he and Dyami Brown are the only two wideouts to appear in all six games. He does have at least three targets in every game and a season high eight in Week 4 when McLaurin was out. For perspective, Diggs had nine in that game, with Burks three and Brown four.

Luke McCaffrey is a key kick returner and he logged his first eight offensive plays, with one target in San Francisco after McLaurin went down.

Tight End

Chig Okonkwo has been on the field for over 70% of the offensive sets the last two games, earning 13 of his 20 targets in this timeframe. He is another core click and there is not much else to add or detract from that.

If Bates is out, Colson Yankoff should see more snaps as the blocking tight end, with H-back Ben Sinnott getting a few snaps as well. This duo has only six combined targets this season and only one in the last three games. Bates has six himself, so there is not exactly a lot of opportunities to be parsed out if he misses tonight’s tilt.

Kickers and DST

Rookie Drew Stevens is 10-of-12 (83%) with both of his misses coming from beyond 50 yards. The UDFA beat out Jake Moody in training camp and he was also solid as a four-year starter for the University of Iowa, holding several school records for field goal volume and distance, as well as appearing in the top-five for the Big Ten career leaderboard for most field goals made (76).

McKee has been sacked five times in his two starts, with one interception among his 80 pass attempts. The Commanders have eight takeaways through six games and a middling 11 sacks.

NFL DFS Week 8 SNF Showdown: Top-10

1. Jayden Daniels: Captain, My Captain!
2. Dallas Goedert: Wow, this is just wild.
3. Rachaad White: Does not have to be force fed with his redundant backups ready to pitch in tonight.
4. Stefon Diggs: The props feel low, though us DFSers are usually overly optimistic.
5. Tanner McKee: Averaging around a dozen fantasy points in his two starts, that is essentially his projection tonight. The lack of rushing upside makes it tricky to give him a chance at the multiplier-slot, unless crafting 20+ lineups.
6. Makai Lemon: He has been getting better each week after injuries set him back during OTAs and training camp.
7. Chig Okonkwo: Steady veteran presence.
8. Saquon Barkley: If he had not been gimping around on Monday Night Football, he would be ranked behind Daniels. Considering that Philadelphia was where The Process was invented, it feels like malpractice that Barkley is even suiting up when it is clear he is not healthy.
9. Drew Stevens: Has fewer games in Northwest Stadium than Elliott.
10. SECONDARY TARGETS
11. Antonio Williams: Depending on your personal preference and risk tolerance, he could easily slot in above Barkley as could this whole section.
12. Elijah Mitchell: Can be rostered with or without Barkley and it would not be a surprise if he leads the backfield in touches. If Barkley were to be held out, then Mitchell would move up to his slot in the top-10.
13. Darius Cooper: Will be on the field a ton and that is worthy of our attention in the single-game format.
14. Washington DST: The high blitz rate has to pay off in sacks or takeaways at some point, right?!
15. Treylon Burks and Dyami Brown: Brown’s floor increases if Burks is out, but this ranking is appropriate for both regardless.
16. LOTTERY TICKETS
17. Jeremy McNichols: More effective than Ekeler at this stage of their careers and he is at the $1,000 minimum on FanDuel which is a $3,800 savings, with a $1,000 discount on DraftKings.
18. Elijah Moore and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown: Coinflip.
19. Austin Ekeler: If not for the sequencing of the various running back injuries, it is unlikely that Ekeler would be in the league at this point.
20. Jaydon Blue: Has been elevated from the practice squad once before, but did not see the field. Still needs something to happen to Barkley or mop-up duty to open the door. If Barkley is a surprise inactive, Blue would move to the top of this section, but no further.
21. Eli Stowers, Johnny Mundt and Grant Calcaterra: All will play, but they project for 1.5 total targets and would need something to befall Goedert before seeing more opportunities than that.
22. John Bates, Colson Yankoff, Ben Sinnott and Luke McCaffrey: The Washington version of the above line.

Build it with the Stokastic NFL Sims. Build EMac's showdown card with the Stokastic NFL Sims. Simulate the slate up to 10,000 times to find the highest-upside captain and flex builds, then use code EMAC15 for 15% off Stokastic Sims. Get Stokastic Sims with EMAC15

More on this: Colts vs Chiefs Showdown DFS: EMac's Week 2 SNF Top-10 · Lions Vs Bills Showdown DFS: EMac's Week 2 TNF Top-10 · Broncos Vs Chiefs Showdown DFS: The Edge Isn't At Captain · Cowboys Vs Giants Showdown DFS: Don't Captain Prescott · Patriots vs Seahawks Showdown DFS: The Opener's Captain Question