Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles 2016 Fantasy Outlook

Published Apr. 26, 2016 10:52 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Philadelphia Eagles are in the midst of a massive overhaul, and seem destined not to look anything like they did last season.

After a disappointing 7-9 season that didn't bore the fantasy fruit most expected, perhaps that's not a bad thing. After letting go of Chip Kelly and his uptempo offense and hiring an Andy Reid disciple in Doug Pederson this offseason, the Eagles were already in store for big fantasy changes.

But it's not just a coaching staff thing: the personnel is changing as well. DeMarco Murray, a first or second round pick in every fantasy draft last season, is now with the Titans after a bust of a season where he averaged 3.6 yards a carry and was a total non-factor in more than just a handful of games.

Losing your starting running back and being faced with the prospects of Ryan Mathews, aka Mr. Glass, as your workhorse for a coach who loves to run the ball obviously raises some red flags. Mathews performed well last year (5.1 YPC) despite not being the lead back, and you can almost talk yourself into his fantasy stock.

There's some talent on the offensive line in front of him, and in Kansas City under Pederson's watch as offensive coordinator, no-names like Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware performed like top picks. If he received more than the 106 carries he received last year, maybe he could put up some big numbers. Injuries are awfully hard to predict, even though we know that Mathews has only played one full season in six years.

The overall situation in Philadelphia takes a lot of shine off the individual talents, however. The Eagles made the bold move of trading up in the draft for the second overall pick in order to select a quarterback...even though they just re-signed Sam Bradford to a new deal.

Howie Roseman: Let me be clear, Sam Bradford is our starting quarterback. The #Eagles will not trade Bradford
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) April 20, 2016

Bradford, obviously, sees the writing on the wall. The Eagles haven't selected Jared Goff or Carson Wentz yet, but Bradford and his agent have asked for a trade and have chosen to no longer participate in the team's offseason program, FOX Sports NFL Insider Mike Garafolo has confirmed. What's best for the Eagles long-term might sabotage their short-term outlook, even as the franchise attempts to smooth things over with Bradford.

Although things started to click down the stretch for Bradford (three 300+ yard games to close the season), he never put up the massive numbers that made him such a popular draft day sleeper pick. Kelly's offense was 6th in passing attempts, but Bradford's 3,725 yards and 19 touchdowns to 14 picks weren't anywhere close to fantasy starter material, even if he flirted with it at times.

Philadelphia's passing game was hamstrung by bad protection up front and even worse receiver play. Nelson Agholor was a bust, catching only 23 passes. Miles Austin, despite having no juice left, received major playing time. Jordan Matthews clawed his way to respectability (85-997-8 TD) and Zach Ertz made a late charge (75-853-2).

According to Pro Football Focus, the Eagles receivers ended with a -32.5 PFF cumulative receiving grade (0.0 is average). Drops played a big factor, as Philly totaled 22 in 2015.

Wide receivers were never the main targets in Kansas City under Pederson (they went a whole season without a WR catching a TD in 2014), so it's hard to get too excited about Philly's passing game. Jordan Matthews has at least set a decent baseline of what to expect after his first two years, but receiving passes from a rookie quarterback (or Chase Daniel) if Bradford gets his trade demands granted is a little scary.

Ertz has the best chance of improving on his numbers last season. Tight ends were a big factor in KC (Travis Kelce received 100 targets last year) and rookie quarterbacks often lean on their tight ends as a crutch. Ertz will be entering his fourth season, which is when young tight ends typically start to put up big numbers. If Bradford is dealt and Wentz or Goff end up as the projected starters, Ertz will likely end up being a good value in drafts.

Again though, it's hard to deny that the fantasy stock of the Eagles is trending way down after the bubble burst last year under Chip Kelly. This was a team that was heavily targeted in fantasy drafts last year, but for the upcoming 2016 season, chances are fantasy players will largely be looking elsewhere come draft time.