The NFL Grind Down: Monday Night Football - Seahawks vs. Eagles
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In this article, we will take a look at the top DraftKings and FanDuel picks for Seahawks vs. Eagles, go over potential sleepers, and even take a look at some player props that we can target on fantasy pick’em sites like Sleeper Fantasy ahead of this Monday Night Football matchup.
NFL DFS Showdown DraftKings Picks and Sleepers — Seahawks vs. Eagles
My Jaguars are not built for these primetime games. They lost to the Bengals a few weeks ago and lost to the Ravens last night. While it wasn’t an ideal outing for my team, I hope some of you had a good night when it came to DFS. We nailed Justin Tucker as a sleeper, Gus Edwards as a contrarian play, Jamal Agnew as a value play, and Lamar Jackson as the best MVP and CPT. If you haven’t been betting on the props at the bottom of these articles, there’s no reason not to at this point. We are now 27-8 over the last 35 games. And these aren’t heavily juiced props either; they are generally at -110 or -115.
On Monday night, we turn our attention to the Seahawks and Eagles. This game has an extremely wide range of outcomes. The Seahawks are always a wild card at home, and the Eagles are coming off of a brutal 4-week schedule. With that said, Philadelphia is the more talented team of the two. It wouldn’t shock me to see the Eagles bounce back with a big win here, but it also wouldn’t shock me to see the Seahawks put up a nice fight at home. The game features a 3-point spread and a 45-point total.
Key Injuries
Jalen Hurts – Questionable
Geno Smith – Questionable
Seattle Seahawks Preview
The Seahawks will likely need to win out to make the playoffs, but they do boast a 4-2 record at home and have put up some solid performances this season. Geno Smith “faces an uphill battle” to suit up for this game but is officially listed as questionable. Honestly, I don’t think there’s much of a difference between Smith and Drew Lock at this point in their respective careers. I suppose Lock has a wider range of potential outcomes, but I’ll have the same interest in Seattle’s quarterback regardless of who starts. The matchup and spot is about as good as you will find. The Eagles have allowed the 2nd-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, and quarterbacks that are home underdogs tend to perform well in DFS. I won’t have much exposure to Smith/Lock at MVP and CPT, but I will have them in most of my lineups as a FLEX play.
The Eagles might have some notable names in their secondary, but that has not translated to success on the field this season. They have allowed more fantasy points to wide receivers than any team in the NFL. DK Metcalf and Draymond Green should probably hang out because they have a lot in common. They seem to be more interested in fighting than in playing their respective sports. Kidding aside, it’s hard to see anyone on the Eagles putting up much resistance against Metcalf. I could see this being one of his classic 100+ yards and 1+ touchdown performances.
Tyler Lockett hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 10 and has been held under 15 fantasy points in 4 straight games. This is a good get-right spot, but I do prefer finding the cap space and getting up to Metcalf in small-field tournaments and cash games. Jaxon Smith-Njigba hasn’t shown much of a ceiling this season, but he has seen 18 targets over the last 2 games. Perhaps the Seahawks are making an emphasis to get him the ball late in the season. The Eagles aren’t particularly tough on tight ends, but the Seahawks still have Noah Fant, Colby Parkinson, and Will Dissly splitting snaps at the position.
Kenneth Walker had a stranglehold on the feature back role early this season, but we are essentially seeing a timeshare at this point. Zach Charbonnet has made the most of his opportunities recently, so we should see a fairly even split between the two against the Eagles. Ultimately, we can expect Walker to handle more of the early downs and Charbonnet to handle more of the obvious passing downs. I like the idea of using the projected game script in each lineup to decide between these two. In builds where you are playing that the Eagles build a big lead, I would lean to Charbonnet. In builds where you are playing for a close game, I would lean to Walker.
My interest in the Seahawks defense hinges solely on the availability of Jalen Hurts. If he’s active, I’ll take my chances with a fade. Kicker Jason Myers has had a nice season, and the Eagles haven’t been able to slow down many opponents so far this season. He’s a strong option in all formats.
Philadelphia Eagles Preview
The big question for the Eagles is whether Jalen Hurts is going to feel good enough to play in this game. He’s been dealing with an illness but wasn’t listed on the initial injury report. Something must have changed on Saturday night, as they downgraded him to questionable. If he’s unable to suit up, veteran Marcus Mariota will draw the start. Honestly, I will have interest in whoever starts at quarterback. Hurts has a solid floor/ceiling combination, and Mariota is too cheap across the industry. A matchup against the Seahawks is certainly enticing, as Seattle is 21st or worse in DVOA against the pass, dropback EPA, and fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.
While I will be overweight on the Eagles’ starting quarterback regardless of who it is, I will certainly downgrade the pass catchers if Mariota draws the start. For our purposes. let’s assume Hurts is healthy enough to play. A.J. Brown has seen 26 targets over the last 2 games and has had several slate-breaking performances this season. The Seahawks are dealing with some injuries in the secondary and have allowed the 4th-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season.
DeVonta Smith has averaged 13.4 fantasy points per game with Dallas Goedert active and 22.4 fantasy points per game with him out of the lineup. I think there’s merit to these splits, as he ran a lot more routes underneath while Goedert was out. This doesn’t mean we can’t target Smith, but I do prefer Brown in this spot. As for Goedert, he ran a route on 26 of 28 dropbacks in his first game back from injury. He’s a strong option in all formats. Quez Watkins, Olamide Zaccheaus, and Julio Jones all ran fewer than 13 routes last week. They are large-field tournament fliers at best on this slate, as their floor is effectively 0 fantasy points.
Much like Seattle’s backfield, I like the idea of using D’Andre Swift and Kenneth Gainwell as pieces in whatever game script you think will play out. We’ve seen Gainwell have a much bigger role recently, but that’s because the Eagles have been playing from behind in the last 2 games. If you think the Eagles will build a lead, I would lean to Swift. This is certainly a nice matchup, as the Seahawks are 30th in rush EPA and 28th in fantasy points allowed to running backs this season.
The Eagles defense has been nothing short of terrible this season, but the Seahawks do allow a high pressure rate, and this is the worst offense Philadelphia has faced in a while. Kicker Jake Elliott is one of my favorite point-per-dollar options on the slate.
Lineup Construction Thoughts
While we don’t know who is starting at quarterback for either team, I expect to have plenty of exposure to both starters. When it comes to MVP and CPT, there are really only a few players that I am considering — Jalen Hurts (if active), A.J. Brown, and DK Metcalf. This is one of the trickiest Showdown slates in recent memory, as both teams could be playing with a backup quarterback, both teams have timeshares at running back, and both teams have attackable defenses.
Seahawks-Eagles DFS Salaries & Projections
| Player | Team | Pos | Proj | DK Sal | CPT Sal | DK/$ | FD Sal | FD/$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalen Hurts | PHI | QB | 23.14 | $11,400 | $17,100 | 2.03 | $17,000 | 1.36 |
| Geno Smith | SEA | QB | 18.35 | $9,400 | $14,100 | 1.95 | $13,000 | 1.41 |
| A.J. Brown | PHI | WR | 18.26 | $11,200 | $16,800 | 1.63 | $15,500 | 1.18 |
| D.K. Metcalf | SEA | WR | 15.30 | $9,600 | $14,400 | 1.59 | $14,500 | 1.06 |
| Tyler Lockett | SEA | WR | 14.78 | $6,600 | $9,900 | 2.24 | $10,000 | 1.48 |
| D’Andre Swift | PHI | RB | 13.79 | $8,000 | $12,000 | 1.72 | $12,000 | 1.15 |
| Kenneth Walker | SEA | RB | 12.43 | $7,800 | $11,700 | 1.59 | $11,000 | 1.13 |
| DeVonta Smith | PHI | WR | 12.00 | $9,000 | $13,500 | 1.33 | $12,500 | 0.96 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | WR | 10.52 | $5,600 | $8,400 | 1.88 | $8,000 | 1.32 |
| Zach Charbonnet | SEA | RB | 10.17 | $4,000 | $6,000 | 2.54 | $9,500 | 1.07 |
| Dallas Goedert | PHI | TE | 9.38 | $6,200 | $9,300 | 1.51 | $9,000 | 1.04 |
| Jake Elliott | PHI | K | 7.70 | $5,000 | $7,500 | 1.54 | $8,500 | 0.91 |
| Jason Myers | SEA | K | 7.03 | $4,800 | $7,200 | 1.46 | $9,000 | 0.78 |
| Kenneth Gainwell | PHI | RB | 6.64 | $4,400 | $6,600 | 1.51 | $8,000 | 0.83 |
| Eagles | PHI | DST | 6.43 | $4,600 | $6,900 | 1.40 | $9,500 | 0.68 |
| Seahawks | SEA | DST | 5.12 | $3,400 | $5,100 | 1.51 | $8,500 | 0.60 |
| Noah Fant | SEA | TE | 4.78 | $2,600 | $3,900 | 1.84 | $7,500 | 0.64 |
| Colby Parkinson | SEA | TE | 3.01 | $200 | $300 | 15.05 | $7,000 | 0.43 |
| Quez Watkins | PHI | WR | 1.63 | $800 | $1,200 | 2.04 | $7,000 | 0.23 |
| Will Dissly | SEA | TE | 1.48 | $200 | $300 | 7.40 | $5,500 | 0.27 |
| Olamide Zaccheaus | PHI | WR | 1.20 | $2,200 | $3,300 | 0.55 | $7,500 | 0.16 |
| Jake Bobo | SEA | WR | 1.18 | $1,000 | $1,500 | 1.18 | $6,500 | 0.18 |
| Boston Scott | PHI | RB | 1.15 | $1,800 | $2,700 | 0.64 | $5,500 | 0.21 |
Fantasy Sleepers
Zach Charbonnet: $4,000 DK / $9,500 FD
I’m writing this before the first set of ownership projections have been released, but I do expect Zach Charbonnet to be fairly contrarian, especially on FanDuel. He didn’t play as many snaps as Kenneth Walker last week, and the matchup sets up better for the pass than the run. But that’s exactly the reason why I like him in this spot. He’s the better pass-catching back of the two, and there’s a decent chance the Seahawks find themselves trailing in this game.
Seahawks vs. Eagles Player Pick’em
Season record: 30-16
27-8 over the last 34 games
Jaxon Smith-Njigba more than 40.5 Receiving Yards (1.75x) – Sleeper
The fantasy pick’em plays kept on rolling last night, as Gus Edwards hit the over on his rushing total. For tonight, there are plenty of reasons to like Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks are underdogs, they are playing at home, and they are facing a team that can’t defend wide receivers. In addition to allowing the most fantasy points, the Eagles have allowed the 3rd-most receiving yards to the position. JSN is a talented rookie whose role seems to be growing as the season progresses. He has seen 18 targets over the last 2 games alone.
Image Credit: Getty Images