Troubled Times for Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Xfinity, trouble brewing in Philadelphia, Fernando Mendoza's pro day and do not draft these players.
It seems hard to believe that a team that won the Super Bowl less than 14 months ago would be mired in complete dysfunction, but that’s exactly what is unfolding with the Philadelphia Eagles right now.
The A.J. Brown saga is well-trodden at this point (and his departure now feels like a lock), but the newest flavor of trouble in Philly centers around Jalen Hurts.
Trouble Brewing in Philly
In a recent piece for ESPN, Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler laid bare how things have gone south for Hurts.
Some of the notable quotes they received from team sources:
On the state of affairs heading into training camp last summer: "A disaster" and that "whatever personality traits had rubbed people the wrong way had grown since the championship win."
On the locker room mood: "Poor body language, not always bought in, not the most coachable and the players notice."
Hurts needs coaches who will "check him" and that he had "too many yes people around him" this past season.
Oof.
It’s not all personality-based either. The article mentions that Hurts was changing plays out of the huddle, was reluctant to diversify the offensive scheme, didn’t want to play under center and that he’s been too hesitant to “let it rip” against zone coverage.
This will be a fascinating story to watch unfold because not only is Hurts angling for a contract extension, but the new OC, Sean Mannion, will be installing a new offense that features a lot of under-center-play action … the exact thing Hurts has pushed back on.
Something is going to have to budge here … and it sounds like it will need to be the Super Bowl LIX MVP.
If you’ve had Josh Allen in fantasy any year since 2020, you’ve been more than happy. He’s been the QB1 five times in that span, the only year he didn’t finish up top being 2022 when he fell all the way to QB2. He just finished his followup to his 2024 NFL MVP season with 3,668 passing yards and 25 TDs, adding 579 rushing yards and 14 more scores on the ground. Betting against him continuing his fantasy dominance for another five years would be ill-advised.
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In 21 days our hearts and minds will be focused in on Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft to see how many hits we get on the Big Board. Meanwhile, we can’t stop, won’t stop putting out great content …
The hype surrounding Fernando Mendoza has been very real and deserved. From taking over at QB for Indiana for the 2025 season, then leading the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 season while picking up a Heisman Trophy along the way, Heis-Mendoza excitement continues to build. Wednesday was the next stage, as Indiana held its pro day and those in attendance were largely there to see Mendoza take his next step on the way to being the No. 1 pick to the Las Vegas Raiders. Kody Malstrom kept tabs on the near-perfect performance:
Even if the reps during his pro day were the equivalent of a layup line at best, it was still impressive to see Mendoza consistently hit his pass catchers in the strike zone. His only incompletion was also to no fault of his own, a dropped ball that hit his target square in the numbers.
We remember well that three-game run during the 2024 fantasy playoffs when Bucky Irving turned 60 touches into 395 scrimmage yards and a TD. He zoomed up draft boards last summer, only to have injury and uneven play when healthy sabotage his 2025 season. Now he has company in the backfield? Chris Allen examined Irving’s situation last season and now before making a recommendation on whether to draft him or not:
What's worse is that the players who stepped in for Irving were better in their new roles. Rachaad White, as a receiver, averaged a full yard more after the catch. Sean Tucker turned a third of his goal-line carries into TDs. White might be gone, but the addition of Kenneth Gainwell (and his hilarious 19% target share over the final two months) has me out on Irving as a draft target in 2026.
Chris goes through each of the four skill positions and points toward players on his Do Not Draft list. ⤵️
✋🏼 You want me to join ANOTHER fantasy league? Sorry, but, no.
8 Sleeper WRs You Need To Know About
We’ve all heard about the six WRs who are likely to go in the first round of the NFL Draft, but we all know that the draft doesn’t end there. Right? Current NFL stars taken on Day 2 include Davante Adams, A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf. Could some of the WRs taken in the second and third rounds rise to that level? Ian Hartitz and Matthew Freedman break down eight WRs who could surprise.
