The Philadelphia Eagles are 3-0, which is a good start. Less exciting is the way the Eagles have gotten to those three wins, as they have come over the Jaguars, and two teams (Indianapolis and Washington) whose only wins have also come against the Jaguars. So there's a chance the Eagles are good, but there's also a chance they've just beaten up on subpar teams.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 4: Eagles vs. 49ers
The Eagles are 3-0, but it might be a deceptive record. Sunday, they get the chance to prove it.
Grant Halverson
Sunday, they get a chance to face a team with no Jacksonville stigma attached, when they travel to San Francisco for a 4:25 p.m. ET game against the 49ers. The number of fantasy-relevant players in this game is large:
Eagles
Start in every league: Nick Foles, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Zach Ertz, Cody Parkey
Start if you're desperate: Darren Sproles, Defense/special teams
Bench: Jordan Matthews, Riley Cooper
As an NFL quarterback, Foles hasn't been terribly impressive this season -- functional, but not spectacular. But as a fantasy quarterback, he's been really good, with 57 points through three games that has him ranked fifth among quarterbacks. ... McCoy was shut down in Week 3. The problems of the Philadelphia offensive line could limit him, but he's still an every-week must-start. ... Maclin has been one of the best receivers in fantasy so far, with touchdowns in all three games. He's edging on the position's top tier. ... The veritable no-show out of Ertz in Week 3 was disheartening, especially considering all the points Washington allowed to Giants' tight end Larry Donnell Thursday night, but he's still shown enough to be a starter. ... Parkey has been fantasy's best kicker through three weeks, and he and Stephen Gostkowski are the only two at the position with double-digit games all three weeks.
We saw Sproles‘ upside in Week 2, with 23 fantasy points, and his downside in Week 3, with three. His reality is somewhere in between, of course, making him a decent flex play. ... The Eagles’ defense hasn’t done much since playing Jacksonville in Week 1, but with so many decent options on bye, they still make for a reasonable flex play.
Matthews had a big Week 3; Cooper hasn’t had a big game yet this season. Matthews is a better option than Cooper at this point, but neither one makes for a good fantasy play.
49ers
Start in every league: Colin Kaepernick, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Defense/special teams
Start if you're desperate: Frank Gore, Phil Dawson
Bench: Carlos Hyde, Anquan Boldin, Steve Johnson
He hasn’t had one of his huge games yet this year, but Kaepernick still looks like the quarterback with all the upside we’ve had our eyes on. He’s my No. 8 QB this week. ... After a quiet Week 1, in which he was injured and the team didn’t really need him, Crabtree has shown his start-every-week mettle, with 14 points a game the last two weeks. ... Sure, he might still be banged up, and keep an eye on the reports, but if Davis is on the field, he’s in your lineup. ... It’s been a quiet couple of weeks for the 49ers’ defense, but it’s the same situation as the Eagles above -- with so many good units on bye, they’re a fine start.
Gore hasn’t rushed for more than 66 yards in a game yet this season; if not for his Week 2 touchdown, we’d be looking at a really bad start to the season. He’s still probably a fine RB2, but it’s not hard to envision a scenario in which he’d be on a fantasy bench. ... Dawson had a much bigger year last year, but he hasn’t gotten a lot of kicking opportunities yet this year.
Hyde’s value really depends on his touchdowns -- he got only three carries and five touches last week. Until he’s more reliable for yardage, you’ll have a hard time putting your faith there. ... Boldin and Johnson are both on the back end of fantasy-ownability, so they can’t really be in your lineup.
