• Tucker Kraft emerges as the Green Bay Packers‘ lead tight end: Kraft consistently took the field over Luke Musgrave in single-tight-end sets.
• DeVonta Smith played as the Philadelphia Eagles’ primary slot receiver: Smith lined up in the slot more than all other Eagles wide receivers combined.
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles
• Saquon Barkley: 24 carries, 109 yards, 2 touchdowns; 2 receptions, 23 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
• Jayden Reed: 4 receptions, 138 yards, 1 touchdown; 1 carry, 33 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
Tucker Kraft is the Packers' TE1: Kraft seems to have completely overtaken Luke Musgrave as the Packers' top tight end.
Musgrave, a second-round pick by the Packers in 2023, began his rookie year as the clear top tight end, playing at least 67% of the snaps in eight of his first nine games.
In contrast, Kraft, a third-round pick of the same class, was limited early on, playing 13 or fewer snaps in his first four games. However, he gradually saw more playing time as the season progressed.
When Musgrave suffered an ankle sprain that sidelined him for six weeks, Kraft stepped in, playing at least 90% of the snaps. Even after Musgrave returned on a limited basis for the playoffs, Kraft continued to play over 80% of the snaps.
Tonight, the tight end usage followed the same pattern, with Kraft rarely leaving the field and Musgrave only playing in formations with two or more tight ends.
Anyone who drafted Musgrave in redraft leagues can drop him. Kraft is a waiver wire consideration.
Kraft averaged 9.9 fantasy points per game as a starter last season, which puts him right around TE11, but the Packers were also dealing with several injuries during that time. He wasn’t a large part of the offense in this game, but he should consistently make a few catches each game. He is a fine option for someone looking for a handcuff, but at this point, it’s unlikely he’ll consistently rank among the top 12 tight ends most weeks.
The Packers use a predictable wide receiver rotation: Most fantasy managers were likely hoping for more playing time for their favorite Packers receiver.
Romeo Doubs was a clear starting wide receiver, only leaving the field for a few plays, which Bo Melton took. Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks were competing for the other outside spot, with Watson playing more snaps in 11 personnel and Wicks playing more in 12 personnel. Jayden Reed played only in 11 personnel, which is consistent with his usage last season.
Starting any of these wide receivers in fantasy lineups is risky. Doubs runs the most routes but averaged only 10.3 fantasy points per game last season. And while Doubs scored several touchdowns last season, Watson saw three end-zone targets tonight, suggesting that the team might emphasize getting Watson the ball in scoring situations.
Watson remains dependent on big plays — he scored a touchdown tonight but contributed little otherwise. As for Wicks, he didn't play enough to warrant a start.
This leaves Reed, who had by far the best game of the Packers receivers tonight. In a close game, Green Bay relied heavily on 11 personnel, facing a defense that allowed the most receiving yards to slot receivers last season. Reed primarily faced Avonte Maddox, who allowed a league-high 2.22 yards per coverage snap last season, the worst mark among defenders with at least 75 coverage snaps.
It’s difficult for wide receivers who only play in 11 personnel to be consistent fantasy starters, and even Melton was playing ahead of Reed in 11 personnel.
There will be games this season where the Packers are leading and use more 12 personnel, reducing Reed’s playing time. In other weeks, the other wide receivers may deliver big plays.
DeVonta Smith is the Eagles' slot receiver: This will be great news for his future fantasy production.
This offseason, there was speculation that Smith could play more in the slot. He studied CeeDee Lamb this offseason and has a much higher yards per route run average from the slot. It’s an important position in Kellen Moore’s offense.
While Smith didn't line up in the slot for 100% of the 11-personnel snaps, he was there for around three-quarters of those snaps, which was much higher than last season.
When Smith wasn’t in the slot, A.J. Brown often filled that role with similar slot rates to last season. Smith had a solid performance with seven receptions for 84 yards, but his usage in this game indicates that much bigger games could be ahead for him this season.
Saquon Barkley leads the Eagles: Barkley played most of the offensive snaps, much to the delight of fantasy managers.
In recent seasons, head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore have used backfield rotations. However, after signing Barkley to a large contract, the consensus was that this wouldn’t be the case this season.
Barkley played all 17 snaps on the first three drives. He was then rested for three plays on the fourth drive and took himself out mid-drive on the fifth, not returning until the third quarter.
It wasn’t reported during the game whether he was dealing with a minor injury, but it seemed possible. However, he returned in the second half and played every snap over multiple drives.
It’s worth noting that Kenneth Gainwell served as the primary backup, playing whenever Barkley was off the field. He appears to be the handcuff, should Barkley ever get hurt. Will Shipley played in two-running-back sets, though he was often sent in motion and lined up more like a wide receiver than a running back.
Barkley was always going to be a weekly must-start. However, this high workload increases the chances he will end the season as a top-five fantasy running back.
Miscellaneous Notes
• Packers rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd was inactive with a hamstring injury. He was limited in practice. Emanuel Wilson was limited in practice all week with a hip injury.
• Josh Jacobs played most of the time tonight because of the injuries. It was notable that Jacobs was often on the field for third-and-long, which was not the case while he was with the Las Vegas Raiders, but we won’t have a great sense of the Packers' running back rotation until Lloyd and even Wilson is healthy.
• Malik Heath was a healthy inactive for the Packers as the sixth wide receiver on the depth chart.
• Jordan Love suffered an injury in the last 10 seconds of the game. His injury will be one worth monitoring. If he misses time, Malik Willis will be the starter, and it will be even more difficult to trust any Packers player in fantasy starting lineups.
Table Notes
• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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