RADIO
A Notre Dame player on the Eagles? My grandfather would be rolling over in his grave. That said, Golden Tate on the Eagles makes a lot of sense as they have a need at receiver to help complement Zach Ertz and Alshon Jeffery. And because apparently, they couldn’t find a running back to trade for.
The more weapons for Carson Wentz the better and Tate was the best available weapon on the market. With 44 receptions, 517 yards and three touchdowns through seven games this season, Tate at 5’10 and just under 200 pounds makes a good possession receiver. He is regularly among the league leaders in YAC (yards after catch) and a big play threat with the ball in his hands as well.
Although the Eagles already have a plethora of slot guys in Nelson Agholor and Jordan Matthews, Tate is a much better player than either of the other two including a WR12 fantasy finish in 2017 despite being hobbled by injury much of the season and playing alongside the 11th-ranked fantasy wide receiver in Marvin Jones Jr. Now that he is moving to the defending Super Bowl champions, his value is certainly not going down any time soon.
Golden in Green
While playing all 16 games in 2017, Golden Tate had 120 targets in which he had 92 receptions for 1,003 yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, the leading wide receiver for the Eagles, Alshon Jeffery, had 789 yards and nine touchdowns on 57 receptions while also having 120 targets. Both of these players will take a backseat to Zach Ertz, who is fourth in the league in targets among all players (RB, WR, and TE) but both are top-20 receivers in the league and having them both together gives Philadelphia a better chance to win their division and ultimately return to the NFC Championship game after struggling early in the season.
With Jay Ajayi injured and out for the season, along with Darren Sproles missing several weeks, the running game of the Eagles is down to Cory Clement, Wendell Smallwood and rookie Josh Adams. These names do not stir up a lot of confidence. With Jason Peters seemingly injured every game and Lane Johnson out for four weeks with a sprained MCL, the offensive line, which was number one last season, is feeling the pressure to hold up which it has not done overly well as of late.
With the running game being suspect at best, the passing game will become even more important. A receiver like Tate, who caught over 75% of his targets last season, is a sure-handed playmaker. Look for him to form a good one-two combination with Jeffery on the perimeter, with Ertz working the middle of the field.
Much like bringing in the above mentioned Jeffery last season, Tate could be the missing link in the return to the Super Bowl for the Eagles. Golden Tate should have an immediate impact after the Eagles' Week 9 bye week and should easily retain all of the value he had while in Detroit.
He should be a high-end WR2 going forward for the rest of the season, with slightly higher value than before. This makes him a good hold if you have him or a good trade option if you have a league mate who isn’t sold on him in Philly or is a fan of another NFC East team and refuses to have players from division rivals on their roster. Yes, it happens. SMH
