RADIO
Happy Monday RotoBallers! Another week, another Monday.
Unlike last week, tonight's Monday Night Football matchup pits together two divisional teams on the upswing. The Redskins visit Philadelphia having won three of their last four with the passing attack finally starting to click. Meanwhile, the Eagles might be the hottest team in football, looking for their fifth consecutive win. Both teams rank in the top six in total yards per game, and an over/under total of 49 points is the second highest on the Week 7 slate (behind just the Super Bowl rematch between Atlanta and New England).
A win tonight would not only give the Eagles a full two game lead in the NFC East, it would give them a leg up on the first tiebreaker with a 3-0 start within the division. From a fantasy perspective though, injuries in the both secondaries could create for some matchup-winning performances. You'll definitely want to have a piece of tonight's game if possible, but just make sure it's the right piece(s).
Washington Redskins @ Philadelphia Eagles
Date and Start Time: Monday, October 16th at 8:30 p.m. EST
Game Spread: Eagles -4.5
Notable Injuries and Status:
- Trent Williams (T, WAS) - Knee - Questionable
- Bashaud Breeland (CB, WAS) - Knee - Questionable
- Rob Kelley (RB, WAS) - Ankle - Questionable
- Josh Norman (CB, WAS) - Ribs - OUT
- Ronald Darby (CB, PHI) - Ankle - Questionable
- Wendell Smallwood (RB, PHI) - Knee - Questionable
Offensive and Defensive Rankings (based on per game stats through Week 6):
| Redskins | Eagles | |
| Passing Yards | 8th | 9th |
| Rushing Yards | 11th | 3rd |
| Pass Defense | 18th | 29th |
| Run Defense | 8th | 1st |
Must Starts
Top Players That You Should Have In Your Lineup
Alshon Jeffery (WR, PHI)
Despite two high-powered offenses, there are not a ton of must starts tonight. That said, I really like this spot for Alshon. He has yet to reach 100 yards in any single game this season and has only reached double digit fantasy points in 50% of his six games in PPR scoring, but I wouldn't discount some of his corner matchups either (Josh Norman, Marcus Peters, Patrick Peterson). With no Norman tonight for Washington, this might be the opportunity that Jeffrey has been waiting for. Coming off a ten-target game, look for Wentz to feed his #1 WR. There's definite risk here, but he's the best non-Ertz play tonight outside of QB.
Zach Ertz (TE, PHI)
And speaking of the devil, Ertz enters Week 7 as fantasy's best tight end thus far in 2017. In a position that has offered anything but, he's showed consistency in one of the league's best passing attacks. Last week in Carolina was the only time this year that Ertz has caught less than five passes, but he had two scores to his name anyway. Averaging almost nine targets per game, he's become Wentz's favorite target and offers a high floor in any given week. Fire him up as the TE1 you own him as.
Kirk Cousins (QB, WAS)
This may not the quarterback you expected to see listed here, but Cousins' last three weeks are reminiscent of the 2016 campaign that allowed him to finish in the top five for the position. He has 8 TDs to just 1 INT in that time, and he's averaging over 300 yards per game in the process. In a game where the Eagles are likely going to put up some points against a banged up Redskins defense, Cousins is going to be throwing all night long to keep up. Wentz is a perfectly fine play as well, but I have Cousins as tonight's best QB option.
Must Sits
Players To Avoid Putting In Your Lineup
All Redskins WRs
This is a tough one for me because I was pretty high on both Terrelle Pryor and Jamison Crowder before the season, but there's no guessing as to when (or if) either of them are going to put it together. Despite the resurgence of Cousins over the last three weeks, neither Pryor or Crowder have been the focal point of the offense, and Josh Doctson is nothing more than a dart throw. If you need to play one, Pryor is the obvious choice, but I'm not taking the chance right now if I have any of the other options listed in this article.
Solid Options/Sleepers
Which Players Will Have Solid Games and Which Could Surprise?
Solid Option - Carson Wentz (QB, PHI)
I mentioned him a bit above, but Wentz is good start this week. He too has an 8:1 TD-to-INT ratio over the last three weeks and he's thrown the ball 30+ times in every single game so far this season, but his yardage is capped a bit. He's done a great job of taking care of the ball and his floor is relatively high, but I think he's the less likely of tonight's two quarterbacks to go for something like 350+ with 3-4 TDs.
Solid Option - Jordan Reed (TE, WAS)
Take a deep breath, Reed owners. I know that he's been a frustrating own so far based on where you probably drafted him, but he's seemingly healthy (for now) and hasn't had less than five targets in any of the four games he's played this year. He certainly isn't a rock solid start given his volatility, but because of his ceiling and the overall inconsistency of the position, he's still startable as a TE1.
Sleeper - Chris Thompson (RB, WAS)
It's hard to still label Thompson as a sleeper, but I also can't call him anything more with the probable return of Rob Kelley tonight. That's not to say that Kelley is all of a sudden going to dominate backfield touches, but Thompson is unlikely to repeat the 16 carries that he had last week – and honestly he's unlikely to hit the 8 carry mark that he had in Week 3. That said he's very much a part of the Redskins passing attacking and offers big-play ability. Even in standard, non-PPR leagues, he's a sneaky good play given that I don't love any of the other RB options tonight.
