After one week with no official "Thursday Night Football", TNF is back tonight when the Eagles host the Giants (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video). The first NFL game of the week has some prime-time intrigue when it comes to fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em decisions, and if you're looking for lineup advice on whether you should play guys such as Carson Wentz, Boston Scott and Evan Engram, you've got come to the right place.
Before getting into the matchup, the injury report is extensive. For the Giants, running back Saquon Barkley is long gone with his torn ACL suffered in Week 2. There's a chance that wide receiver Sterling Shepard (toe) is activated for the game. Wide receiver Darius Slayton (foot) will play, while wide receiver Chris Board (concussion) will not.
WEEK 7 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
For the Eagles, running back Miles Sanders (knee) and tight end Zach Ertz (ankle) will not play. The team is iffy on Dallas Goedert (ankle) being activated for the game. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson (hamstring) will return with an uncertain snap count, while wide receivers Alshon Jeffery (foot/ankle) and Jalen Reagor (thumb) will continue to miss time. At a key non-skill position, right tackle Lane Johnson (ankle) will return, too.
Got that? Now, here's breaking down TNF for start and sit advice, depending on the size of your league and your other options for Week 7:
WEEK 7 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Eagles: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Start: QB Carson Wentz
For all the talk about his struggles early this season, Wentz is No. 9 in QB scoring overall and averaging 20.7 fantasy points per game, good for 14th, He is coming off his best fantasy performance of the season against the Ravens when he had 213 yards passing, 43 yards rushing and three combined TDs. The Giants have been solid against the run and have one shutdown cornerback, James Bradberry, but expect Wentz to grind in a favorable matchup overall where he has a good shot at 250 yards, two more TDs, and decent rushing producion again without Miles Sanders (knee). He's playable in 12 or 14-team leagues as a streamer or bye-week fill-in for Lamar Jackson.
Start: WR Travis Fulgham
Speaking of Bradberry, Fulgham's rise as Wentz's new go-to "X" wide receiver the past few weeks will make sure he gets good attention from the Giants' one reliable defensive back. Bradberry is capable of shadowing well and can contain Fulgham, but Fulgham also has seen a combined 23 targets from Wentz the past two games. Game script likely won't call for Wentz chucking often in trail mode, but the Eagles should work to scheme Fulgham open, and the return of DeSean Jackson can at least make Bradberry think about where he should line up most.
MORE TNF: FD single-game lineup | DK Showdown lineup
Sit: WR DeSean Jackson
Jackson feels more bust than boom this week. In the recent past, there's been a tendency to keep a hurting Jackson on a snap count, picking spots on when to target him for deep balls. Start at him at your own risk. The "reward" could be as miinimal as a zero, which is never good to start the week.
Start: RB Boston Scott
Remember when the Eagles were supposed to work in Scott behind Sanders as a change-of-pace back? That hasn't materialized for standalone value after Scott's intiruging finish to 2019. Scott, at 5-7, 203 pounds with scatback skills, won't get all the touches with Corey Clement and rookie Jason Huntley also set to get some work. The Giants, however, struggle to cover backs in the passing game. Scott did catch 24 of his 26 targets for 204 yards last season and has caught five-of-six targets for 43 yards this season. With the wide receiver and tight end injuries, it makes sense Wentz will keep him involved as an outlet as an extention to the running game.
Start: TE Richard Rodgers
This is a stretch for standard-sized leagues if Dallas Goedert (foot) stays on the shelf with Ertz (ankle), but as we saw last week, Rodgers will be used. He caught all three of his targets for 31 yards against the Ravens, though fellow backup Jason Croom get the TD. The tight end landscape is pretty bad for Week 7, especially with Mark Andrews, Mike Gesicki, the Colts' TE du jour, the Vikings' duo all on a bye, plus some other dudes such as Ertz hurting. The former Packer is a good fit for the offense, and Wentz does like throwing to him. You can scratch out decent PPR points from him if you are desperate.
Start: Eagles defense/special teams
Daniel Jones is a walking turnover, and the Eagles' pass rush should treat his pass protection like a turnstile, outside and inside. Look for at least three sacks and two takeaways.
Sit: K Jake Elliott
The Eagles aren't scoring a ton and he is way down in fantasy scoring for the position. You can do much better.
WEEK 7 DFS TOURNAMENT LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Giants: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Sit: QB Daniel Jones
Somebody put another dime in the jukebox, baby, because the only thing coming out of Danny Dimes is a sour note. He ended a streak of four straight TD-less games against Washington last week. He has yet to throw for 300 yards and has been below 200 three times. What's sad is that you're counting on most on his rushing production. With QB scoring up everywhere, you don't need to resort to Jones in one-QB leagues.
Sit: RB Devonta Freeman
After 87 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against the Cowboys, Freeman dropped down to 57 scorless yards vs. Washington. The Eagles tend to stifle the traditional running game. Feel "free" to leave him parked on your bench.
WEEK 7 DFS CASH LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Start: WR Darius Slayton
Darius Slayton may seee a "ton" of Darius Slay if Sterling Shepard (toe) doesn't play. Regardless, as Jones' downfield big-play threat and most comfortable fellow second-year target, if you take away Slayton, you usually mess with Dimes. That said, Slayton has the speed to separate for a long TD at any point, and he did deliver a couple of scoes in prime time against a tricky Steelers defense in Week 1. Just keep in mind he's big-play dependent with a higher ceiling than floor in most weeks.
Start: TE Evan Engram
The Eagles cannot handle the tight end in coverage with their linebacker issues. Somehow, that didn't stop Andrews from laying an egg last week. The Giants don't mind getting creative to get Engram the ball, like we saw when he scored on a rush against the Cowboys. Besides, handing the ball off to him ensures he doesn't drop it. Outside of Week 2 and Weke 5, E-squared has been rather useless in fantasy, and both his usage and catch rate have been the "root" of the problem. However, did we mention it's hard to find tight ends to trust out there?
Sit: WR Golden Tate
Silenced in Golden. Better never than Tate. The Eagles did let Cooper Kupp shine and Tyler Boyd go off, but for the most part they've been decent in the slot. You can't play a guy with diminishing targets and feell good about it.
Sit: K Graham Gano
Gano put.up a huge game agaist Dallas and was solid vs. Washington, but he'll cool off here against a good defense. Don't chase the 16 points Justin Tucker put up on the Eagles.
Start: Giants defense/special teams
The Eagles also are giving up their share of sacks and turnovers with Wentz. The Giants are coming off a big game against Washington, which included a scoop and score. It's not always great to play underdog defenses on the road, however. They are a back-end 12-team start based on the matchup.
MORE WEEK 7 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
Eagles-Giants DraftKings Showdown lineup for Thursday night
Captain: RB Boston Scott ($12,600)
FLEX: QB Carson Wentz ($10,800)
FLEX: WR Darius Slayton ($9,200)
FLEX: WR Travis Fulgham ($8,800)
FLEX: TE Evan Engram ($8,000)
FLEX: TE Jason Croom ($200)
Sometimes you just feel a Boston in Philadelphia. HIs captaincy allows us to get in his quarterback, Wentz's top wide receiver and one of his tight ends. Croom is a punt play, but if he scores again we're feeling good. By going cheap there, we could also afford Slayton and Engram.
