It wasn’t the game from A.J. Brown fantasy football owners were expecting. The Dallas Cowboys offloaded one of the best pass rushers in the NFL so this was a game for the Philadelphia Eagles to exploit the Cowboys’ biggest weakness right? Well in a way they did, just not through actually passing the ball.
Jalen Hurts torched the Cowboys with his legs and their inability to contain him in an eclectic first half that saw four-straight touchdown drives, split between the two teams. But Hurts was nonexistent as a thrower and there’s a couple of reasons that point to that. For one, Brown being taken out of the game was probably less about the system and more about how the Cowboys played against Brown.
According to a few Eagles players, the Cowboys did a good job of taking away their first options, which is probably why Hurts defaulted to scrambling instead of passing. That said, will that become a pattern this season and if so, will that mean Brown's production will drop?
Here’s what Brown’s Week 1 says about his potential this year with fantasy football.
History shows that A.J. Brown will still have a solid season in fantasy football
I know some of you fantasy football owners are ready to throw the towel in on A.J. Brown and see how to finesse your fantasy league for a decent return, but it ain’t worth it. History shows Brown will still have a solid season. Though this is the slowest start he’s had, I wouldn’t be fielding offers unless you get one too good to pass up.
Brown has averaged at least 13 points per season since he was drafted in 2019 and the last three seasons in Philadelphia he’s averaged 17 points per season. That’s consistency, not worth giving up on. In each of his last three seasons, he’s had just two other games with less than five points.
The only alarming thing is he was targeted just once on his only catch for eight yards on Thursday night. But that has less to do with Brown himself rather Hurts just not looking his way. If that’s a repeated sign, then maybe start shopping him in trades, but for now, hope the rest of your team carries the weight Week 1 because he’s not one to have many disappointing outings.
Don’t give up on A.J. Brown yet, but monitor the first couple weeks
The Eagles have the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the next three games. I wouldn’t give up on Brown just yet, simply because he could get more targets than he did against the Cowboys. I think Week 1, Hurts simply didn’t want to force any passes with him being able to keep the offense going with his legs.
The Cowboys did a good job of taking Brown out of the game, which is why Jahan Dotson is able to get a 50-yard reception in the game. This was a game that was largely controlled by the running game so I wouldn’t hold that against Brown. That said, if he doesn’t start contributing in the early part of the season, it might not be worth keeping him around.
Rash decisions this early in the season do no one any good so for now, stand pat on Brown and see what he does against the Chiefs, which he had 43 receiving yards and a touchdowns in the Super Bowl; the LA Rams, which he erupted for over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in their regular season meeting last year; and the Buccaneers a team that doesn’t have elite cornerbacks.
The next three weeks will be a good barometer for whether you can truly believe in Brown this season. For now, hold onto him and maybe even move him to the bench if one of your bench guys erupts for a big Week 1, but don’t give up on him just yet, you’ll regret it.
Philadelphia Eagles passing struggles should have fantasy football owners worried about A.J. Brown production
I would be worried about Brown’s production in the first game of the season, but I wouldn’t panic just yet. The Eagles brought in a new offensive coordinator and thus things aren’t going to necessarily be smooth Week 1. That said, the fact that Hurts really didn’t hurt the Cowboys as a passer is slightly alarming.
Hurts isn’t the type to only hurt you as a passer, but he could have looked better. If he struggles to actually get his receivers involved over the next few weeks, that’s when I would start to panic. For now, though, I would just keep in mind it’s still early in the season and a lot has to be decided.
Last year, Kellen Moore was able to engineer an offense built around elite running while not neglecting the passing game, largely due to his experience working with elite receivers. Kevin Patullo, his replacement in Philadelphia, doesn’t have nearly as much experience. Give him a chance to learn this team better throughout the season and allow him to open up the playbook a little bit.
With a coaching change, there’s always a learning curve and Patullo is in the middle of his. The good thing is, the next few weeks should give him some chances to experiment more with getting all the receivers involved more in the offense.