When Lisa Salters reported Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown is expected to miss "a couple of weeks" with a hamstring injury ahead of Philly's Week 2 game against the Falcons, it sent shockwaves through the fantasy football community.
The injury seemed innocuous enough when it was first reported as Brown's hamstring "tightened up on him" during Friday's practice. Now we know it's more serious, and fantasy managers with connections to Brown need to adjust accordingly.
Our first view came on Monday night in the Eagles' loss to the Falcons. Some benefited from Brown's absence. Some didn't. The biggest takeaway is Philly's offense isn't nearly as dangerous without Brown on the field.
DeVonta Smith was the biggest benefactor of Brown not playing. He was targeted 10 times in the game for a healthy 34.5% target share and finished with 7 catches for 76 yards and a TD.
Despite having a great fantasy performance against the Falcons, Jalen Hurts is the biggest loser in this equation. In 33 games with Brown on the field, Hurts averages 237.5 passing yards and 1.42 passing TDs per game. In 31 games without Brown, he averages 141.5 passing yards and 0.74 passing TDs per game.
Hurts' rushing yards and TDs per game also have dropped historically. He averages 42.4 yards and 0.85 TDs per game with Brown to 37.9 and 0.42 without him.
Obviously no one is benching Hurts based on this info and Smith was already in your starting lineup if you had him. However, these stats are instructive as you start projecting what you get from each as the season goes on.
Tight end Dallas Goedert didn't see any increase in production with Brown out and I wouldn't expect that to change. Some people thought Jahan Dotson, the Commanders former first-round pick who the Eagles added this offseason, would see an increase in production, but he was only targeted once against the Falcons. I wouldn't expect that to change. Saquon Barkley got his normal workload.
While Brown should be back sometime in the next few weeks, this is a critical part of the season where every point and win matters in fantasy. Adjust accordingly if you have Smith or Hurts in your lineup.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as How AJ Brown's Injury Hurts Jalen Hurts in Fantasy Football and Helps DeVonta Smith.
