By: Jake Rajala

The Philadelphia Eagles take a long plane ride to battle the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at 4:25 PM. Each NFC squad is represented by a gifted, dual-threat QB. The Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is arguably having the sexiest three-game streak in his career. Meanwhile, the Cardinals QB that garners some unflavored memes is struggling to like his 2021 self without the very elite WR DeAndre Hopkins. With that said, I’m going to untwine the outlook for each young QB and project which QB has the edge ahead at this point.

Jalen Hurts

It’s hard to deny the power of love Hurts after three games in the season. The former Bama stud is coming off his most impressive victory in 2022 with 340 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 0 interceptions against his nemesis, the Washington Commanders. In this season thus far, Hurts has registered 916 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 167 rushing yds, and 3 rushing TDs. It’s also important to note that he’s only thrown one interception.

PFF has given Hurts a 79.4 grade for his 2022 performance at this point. He did have an 80.8 grade by PFF last season. I still believe that Hurts is cleaner with the football in 2022 last season and he’s bound to continue to improve his chemistry with the first-year Eagle A.J. Brown (155 yards this season) and second-year WR Devonta Smith (a whopping 169 yards and 1 TD last week).

Hurts was also phenomenal last week, despite the star TE Dallas Goedert leaving the game in the second quarter (who still made a return in the fourth quarter). The Eagles TE did still manage to have a receiving touchdown in Week 3.

Kyler Murray

The former Oklahoma Sooner hasn’t been an earth-shattering QB yet, but I still believe he has lots of magic in his 25-year-old self. Murray ousted 193 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, 0 ints, 29 rushing yds on five carries, and a 64.71 completion percentage in a Week 1 losing effort against the mighty Kansas City Chiefs. He was able to pick up his first victory of the season against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2 by unleashing 277 passing yds, 1 passing TD, 1 interception, and a 63.77 completion percentage.

Last week, Murray still didn’t make medicine sick. Against a crucial divisional foe, he accumulated zero touchdowns. To be fair, the Rams aren’t an easy defense to shine against. Although, he hasn’t found a way to really break through in any showdown without D-HOP at this early stage in the regular season.

Murray’s top weapon this season has undoubtedly been Hollywood Brown (24 catches, 251 yds, and 1 TD). I would really like to see Kliff Kingsbury find a way to get Zach Ertz (16 receptions, 134 yds, and 1 TD) more involved in the offense, particularly in the red zone.

Verdict:

The Eagles honestly have fierce pieces across the board on their defense (as they limited the Vikings to 7 points and the Commanders to 8 points) and I don’t love that Murray struggled to score a point against a stingy LAR defense last week. On the flip-side, I fully anticipate the insane Eagles WR duo to find gold against a Cardinals secondary that has bled against opposing WR2s and WR3s. Luckily, the Eagles have one of the NFL’s best WR2s in Smith.

The Eagles QB/magician blatantly has more accessible firepower and confidence entering Week 4. I wholeheartedly suspect that he will have more production and come out with the victory in Week 5.

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By: Jake Rajala

Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown have caught a heap of attention for torching opponents with their new teams in 2022. Each wide receiver has been ranked near one another, as well. For instance, Fantasy Pros slotted Brown as the seventh-best WR & Hill as the eight best WR after Week 2 concluded. It may seem like one wideout is peanut butter and the other is jelly, but I’m going to aim to untwine which WR should find more success this season.

A.J. Brown

The former Tennessee Titans wideout, A.J. Brown, garnered 13 targets and ousted 10 catches in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. He obtained 155 yards on those 10 grabs (averaging 15.5 YPC), too. His Week 2 output was five catches on eight targets for 69 yards. Sam Wallace of MB Fantasy Life nicely noted that Brown is fourth in target share with 35% at this point. Of course, Brown has been hard to bring down with the pig skin, as shown below.

Hurts has averaged 31.5 passing attempts in his two contests thus far. He averaged 28.8 passing attempts last season. Even though Brown has been very involved and productive — the Eagles QB hasn’t been slinging it around at an overly high rate.

Brown has the 12th easiest schedule moving forward — which isn’t shabby. I don’t think that Dallas and NYG will be mediocre opponents, but he should continue to find success against the likes of Washington, Jacksonville, Houston, Chicago, Tennessee, and the list goes on.

Tyreek Hill

The Lightning McQueen-like WR, Tyreek Hill, is flying after unleashing 11 catches for 190 yds (14.9 YPC) and 2 TDs in Week 2. His first performance wasn’t exactly weak, as he obtained 94 yards on eight catches. Brown is third in target share, while Hill is eighth in target share. I do love that Hill was causing the elite Ravens defense to bleed in Week 2.

As widely enunciated, Hill has been nothing short of special in recent memory. The Phins WR1 hauled in an incredible 15 touchdowns with 1,276 receiving yards in 2020. Last season, the speed demon registered a career-high 159 targets, 1,239 yds, and 9 touchdowns.

At this point, Hill is in fact first in receiving yards (despite Jaylen Waddle carrying 171 receiving yds to his name).

Verdict:

I’m holding firm onto the Hill train in 2022. It can’t be understated how much of a dynamite presence he’s been with the Phins as of late. Plus, I’m a much bigger fan of Tua’s ceiling as a passer in comparison to Jalen Hurts. I absolutely love the innovative mind of Mike McDaniel, who appears to be the key to the Phins offense.

Brown has been glued to Hurt’s vision, but it should be said that Devonta Smith was unusually quiet in Week 1 (0 receptions in the Eagles opener). I anticipate that Brown won’t be repeatedly eyed from his QB like Michael Thomas was with Drew Brees in 2019.

Hill may not be first-team All-Pro, but he does appear to be in line for many top-end performances in my opinion. Hill is one spot behind Brown on Fantasy Pros, but I’m rolling the dice on Hill’s ceiling & putting my faith in McDaniel this season.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (who tossed 3,144 passing yards and 16 touchdowns to 9 interceptions in 2021) has a chip on his shoulder this off-season after Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers mopped the floor against the Eagles in the recent NFC Wildcard round. Hurts gained a shiny new toy in A.J. Brown (who has 2,995 yards and 24 TDs in his three seasons) – as Brown and DeVonta Smith are unequivocally the best WR tandem in the NFC East.

Hurts also has the very best offensive line in the NFL (as Philly showcases Jordan Mailata, Jason Kelce, and Lane Johnson). The Eagles OL was a vital reason why Jalen Hurts was able to rush for 784 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns last season.

With that enunciated, I believe that the third-year Eagles QB is honestly underrated entering the 2022 season. Marcus Mosher from The Game Day pegged him as the 22nd best QB in the NFL (behind Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Trevor Lawrence). PFF slated him as the third-best QB in their Tier D QB group (after Daniel Jones). Not only have the previously mentioned signal-callers been undoubtedly less impressive than young Hurts in recent memory, but I love the direction with Hurts.

Hurts may be a less talented passing version of Josh Allen or even Kyler Murray at the moment, but he should absolutely blossom in his junior season. Hurts will be sharper in Nick Sirianni’s scheme, Brown will be big-play waiting to happen, and it shouldn’t be underestimated the growth that DeVonta Smith should take in his sophomore season. It should also be noted that the Eagles dual-threat QB isn’t unfamiliar with proving his doubters wrong.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Philadelphia Eagles may be seen as the second-best team in the NFC East by a large number of people. Although, they believe that they can take a jump with a young quarterback in a similar way that the Cincinnati Bengals did from 2020 to 2021 with Joe Burrow. With that said, I’m going to simply project the Eagles 2022 record and untwine how successful the Eagles could be next season.

Week 1: at the Lions

I expect the Lions to be scrappy, but I expect the Eagles to be a lot more explosive than the young Lions team in Week 1. I believe the Eagles will win 31-14.

Week 2: vs the Vikings

This NFC match-up is tight and I do believe the Eagles will have success against the Vikings pass defense. Although, I expect Justin Jefferson to still make his plays. The Eagles should win 28-21.

Week 3: at the Commanders

The Eagles will start 3-0 against a Carson Wentz-led team that won’t be able to hurt the stingy Eagles defense if Darius Slay has a quality game. The Eagles should win 24-10.

Week 4: vs the Jaguars

Doug Pedersen may pull a couple of all-nighters in this revenge week, but the Eagles won’t be upset by T-Lawrence. I expect the Eagles to win 35-21.

Week 5: at the Cardinals

The Eagles will have a tough match-up against the Cardinals, but I don’t believe the Deandre Hopkins-less offense will persist against Philly. The Eagles continue their winning streak with a 28-14 victory.

Week 6: vs the Cowboys

The NFC East quietly features two impressive NFC East teams at this point in the season. I actually believe the Eagles WR unit will have a lot of success in this contest, as the Eagles pick up a massive 28-21 statement victory.

Week 8: vs the Steelers

The Eagles will have a big moment of bliss (and a bye week) after the Boys contest, but I sadly believe T.J. Watt will lead the Steelers to have an upset victory against Philly. I also expect that the Steelers WR trio will give the Eagles pass coverage fits. The Steelers win a gutsy 24-17 victory.

Week 9: at the Texans

The Eagles should feel pretty confident in their defense against the Texans and Brandin Cooks. The Eagles pick up a huge 38-14 victory.

Week 10: vs the Commanders

Let’s be honest – the Wentz show will not bounce back against the Eagles in round two. The Eagles should win 21-7 in another impressive defensive effort.

Week 11: vs the Colts

The Eagles may have a taste of their own medicine, as Jonathan Taylor should run strong against Philly. I expect the underrated Colts team/AFC version of the Eagles duo to edge out the Eagles 28-21.

Week 12: vs the Packers

The Packers will bring another loss to the Eagles calendar – as A-Rod should find a way to pull through with a more-developed Christian Watson. I expect the Pack to win 28-21 in a close show-down.

Week 13: vs the Titans

A.J. Brown should feel pleased as the Eagles bounce back and beat a slowly decaying Titans squad. The Eagles win 35-17.

Week 14: at the Giants

The Eagles will take care of business in a big 28-14 victory against the New York Giants that will slowly improve their pass protection and QB play.

Week 15: at the Bears

The Eagles will have another “taking care of business” win against the young Justin Fields (who deserves more firepower). The Eagles win 28-14.

Week 16: at the Cowboys

I expect the Boys to prepare better than their first match-up and they should put up a lot of points in their building at this time of the year for the second straight season. I believe Dallas splits games with Philly and wins 35-28.

Week 17: vs the Saints

I predicted the Saints to lose this game, as Philly honestly is the Saints kryptonite. The Eagles should win 28-14.

Week 18: vs the Giants

The Eagles will have an excellent victory against a complex Giants team and wrap up their extremely good season on a high note. The Eagles will win 35-14.

Record: 13-4

The Eagles have a favorable schedule and the Eagles have really improved their offensive firepower for Hurts while building a potential Top-3 front seven on defense. He could have unexpected growing pains at some points of the season. Yet, the Eagles are very well-rounded in the NFC Least and I feel that they will have four more wins than last season. Assuming they make the playoffs with at least an impressive record, the question is: how will they compete against juggernaut NFC teams like Tampa Bay or Los Angeles?

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By: Jake Rajala

The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith is striving to be more potent in his sophomore season (after recording 916 yds and 5 touchdowns in his rookie campaign). The Eagles new wideout A.J. Brown has already expressed that the sky is the limit for Smith. Per PFT, Brown feels that Smitty can dominate against opposing CB2s and he also was in awe of Smitty’s route running ability. Of course, the former Heisman winner will pride himself on being the top WR for Hurts as he improves his tool-kit.

Smith garnered an impressive 77.2 grade by PFF and he was even PFF’s highest-graded WR ahead of Week 10 in 2021. It should be noted that Smitty may have been a non-bulked-up wideout in the draft process, but he clearly hit the ground running in his rookie season.

Meanwhile, the former Titans wideout (that signed a four-year contract worth $100 million dollars) and the Eagles expected WR1 will look to be a Top-5 WR in the 2022 season. Brown has recorded 2,995 yds and 24 touchdowns in 36 career games up to this point. His ability to stretch the field can’t be underestimated, as he’s recorded 16.2 YPC in his career. Hurts absolutely has the arm strength to frequently connect with Brown deep down the field, as well.

The Eagles will also certainly expect their WR3 Quez Watkins and WR4 Jalen Reagor to improve in their young careers. Watkins, who has impressed more than Reagor, picked up 647 yards last season. Watkins notably had a 91-yard touchdown catch last season. The former 2020 first-round (Jalen Reagor) may force Nick Sirianni to call Vince Papale if he doesn’t bounce back in his third season. The mediocre rook went from 396 yards to an even less impressive 299 yards in his sophomore slump. It was reported by PFT that the Eagles discussed a trade with the Ravens for Reagor during the draft.

All in all, the Eagles have a fantastic WR group (that was picked as a Top-5 unit by PFF) that should help the Jalen Hurts-led Eagles contend for the NFC East title in 2022. Hurts will need to continue to develop strong chemistry with his fancy WR group in OTAs, so they can reap the awards in the 2022 season.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Philadelphia Eagles added a lot of new talent and swagger this off-season. Of course, A.J. Brown is the most gifted figure that Philly brought over in 2022. Well, Brown surely sees the light at the end of the tunnel for himself and Brown. Per NFL.com, Brown stated, “Smitty is a wide receiver No. 1. And he’s going against a cornerback No. 2, I expect Smitty to dominate. Just taking pressure off each other. Even being on the same sides, so you can’t really double. It’s great having another great wideout besides you.”

The Eagles had the 28th ranked passing attack (passing YPG) last season. If Jalen Reagor can improve his craft, the Eagles could really have an explosive passing game.

Outside of notable player news, there were changes made to the Eagles front office. Dave Caldwell, who spent a year as a personal executive in PHI in 2021, was promoted to senior advisor to the GM. It’s important that the Eagles can continue to stay creative in June, July, and August. Well, it appears that Caldwell will continue to brew excellent ideas for Howie Roseman.

The Eagles have won the NFC East twice in the last five seasons (2017 and 2019). If the Eagles want to de-throne the reigning NFC East champions (Dallas Cowboys), they need to grow strong chemistry now — especially on defense. The Boys dropped 41 points and 51 points in each of their games against the Eagles last season. It’s important the Philly blood Haason Reddick and first-round pick DT Jordan Davis can be effective early and often for their defense in 2022.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Philadelphia Eagles are one of the biggest darkhorse NFC teams in 2022. They have a third-year quarterback with high expectations in Jalen Hurts, a shiny gifted WR in A.J. Brown, and the former Heisman winner in DeVonta Smith.

Well, it appears that the Eagles sensation will join a new country in West Africa. Per NFL.com, the Eagles will be the first NFL club to enter a market in Africa. The International HMA initiative gives access to international territories for marketing (and other engagement purposes) to create universal growth.

In terms of the Eagles roster changes, they haven’t made much noise since the NFL Draft. It was reported by Section 215 that Minshew Mania was receiving trade buzz. Luckily, the Eagles team hasn’t pushed out one of the best QB2s in the league. The 26-year-old went 1-1 as a starter last season while throwing 4 touchdowns to 1 interception.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Philadelphia Eagles turned on their jets last regular season, as they won four out of their past five games. Philly arrived in the NFC playoff dance, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers mopped the floor against the Eagles in their second match-up in the 2021-2022 season. Nonetheless, the Eagles have a lot of optimism to be more potent next season. With that said, I’m going to untwine three reasons why the Eagles can actually win the NFC East next season.

• The new faces in the Eagles front seven

The Eagles GM Howie Roseman truly did a fantastic job of inking the former Temple defender Haason Reddick and then drafting Jordan Davis 13th overall. Plus, the Eagles nicely retained the Eagles legend Fletcher Cox. Reddick will have fantastic match-ups on the edge and Davis should dominate his one-on-one blocks. The Eagles are building a front seven that may be more talented than the Saints and Buccaneers front seven in the near future.

• The introduction of A.J. Brown

The Eagles fan base shouldn’t feel the need to virtually sacrifice Jalen Reagor moving forward, as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will be the new WR duo in 2022. Brown was a fantastic pick-up, as he can nicely be a serious threat with short passes and screens. The Eagles ranked first in the league last season in rushing YPG and it’s clear their play-action game will move up a notch with Brown.

• The slight demise of the Cowboys offense

The Dallas Cowboys have witnessed Ezekiel Elliot look less impressive in each of the past two seasons. There have even been projections of Tony Pollard being crowned the Dallas RB1 soon. Outside of Zeke losing his magic, the Cowboys shipped away Amari Cooper to the Browns this off-season. I have no doubt that the Cowboys will have a high-scoring offense next season, but I expect the Cowboys O to not carry their team in many moments of the 2022 season (or drop 56+ points in a game).

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By: Jake Rajala

The Philadelphia Eagles made a witty blockbuster trade for Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown on yesterday’s first day of the NFL Draft. Brown will join a Philadelphia Eagles offense that also features the ascending Jalen Hurts, DeVonte Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Miles Sanders. After Nick Sirianni used his magic to acquire Brown, their odds to win the NFC East have improved (see below).

It’s obvious that Brown will deliver magic to Nick Sirianni’s team that made the playoffs last season (despite Hurts missing two games). Brown’s rookie season (2019) was quite phenomenal, as he notched 1,051 yards, 8 touchdowns, and registered a very impressive 20.2 yards per catch.

Brown nicely improved in 2020 and unleashed 1,075 yards (career-high) AND 11 touchdowns (career-high). The WR’s production dipped last season, as he recorded 63 receptions, 869 yards, and five touchdowns. Coincidentally, Ryan Tannehill had a porous season in 2021: 21 passing touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

The Eagles really need a boost at their WR2 position. The NFL fan base has virtually sacrificed Jalen Reagor, as he’s failed to live up to the power of Justin Jefferson. Reagor has knocked out a mere 695 yards and three touchdowns in two seasons combined. The Eagles offense also missed the production of Zach Ertz after he was shipped off to Arizona in 2021.

The Los Angeles Chargers brought in multiple big-name profiles to strive to win a Super Bowl with Justin Herbert “and his rookie contract”. It’s clear that Sirianni wants to keep the gas on the pedal and aim to contend for a seat at the NFC championship in year three of Jalen Hurt’s career. The former Alabama QB legend and his hungry WR duo have really jolted the NFC East and the Eagles should really be aiming for “at least a playoff berth” in each future season for the foreseeable future.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Tennessee Titans speed demon wide receiver A.J. Brown has a mysterious outlook in the eyes of many fantasy fanatics. There have been many FF/NFL analysts that have flirted with the idea that he could be traded. Mike Vrabel has stated that he has no intentions of trading Brown amid the Brown trade rumors.

Brown is coming off a career-low season in yards (869) and touchdowns (5). His QB Ryan Tannehill had his worst season as a Titan in 2021, as well. Tanny threw 14 interceptions and only 21 touchdowns. The Titans QB unleashed 531 passing attempts, so it was nerve-wracking to see him muster out 21 passing touchdowns, 3,734 passing yards, and 7.0 YPC. It’s seen by many analysts that Tannehill should be walking on eggshells in 2022.

Well, is there a lot of reason to be confident in Brown in my opinion. Brown is flat out a special football player, regardless of the QB situation. Brown may have a shaky QB, but a major reason for his slight drop-off in 2021: injuries. He missed four games last season. He still recorded 66.8 YPG and had roughly 8 targets per game last season (career-high). I believe the arrival of Robert Woods combined with the absence of Julio Jones shouldn’t put a slight dent in Brown’s production. On a side note, he will benefit from an improved Tanny via a healthy Derrick Henry, as well.

Brown is one of the most explosive wideouts in space. His 16.2 career YPC is another example of how lethal he is. I expect the “24-year-old” WR to be consistent and potentially grow with a QB that’s more talented than Tanny. Brown’s prior production with a mediocre QB is evident of how gifted he is. He is currently the third-best dynasty PPR WR via Fantasy Pros (behind Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson) and that spot should hold true in 2022 and beyond.

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