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Philadelphia Eagles @ Green Bay Packers
Monitor Romeo Doubs‘ health: The Packers’ top wide receiver suffered a pectoral injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Green Bay has dealt with several injuries at wide receiver throughout the season. Christian Watson started the year on the PUP list, while Jayden Reed hasn’t played since Week 2. Most recently, Dontayvion Wicks missed two games with a calf injury, was limited in training all week and was listed as questionable before joining. Matthew Golden was limited with a shoulder injury on Thursday, but was downgraded to non-participant status on Friday and Saturday. He was officially questionable, but ultimately inactive.
Most of the other active Packers receivers also dealt with injuries. Watson (knee), Malik Heath (hip) and Savion Williams (foot) were all limited in practice this week. Romeo Doubs started the game as Green Bay’s only fully healthy wideout.
Doubs remained in his usual role as the Packers’ X-receiver, a spot he has held for the past few seasons. Watson and Wicks shared the Z role last year, and when all four top receivers were healthy, Watson played 62.8% of snaps, compared to Wicks’ 40.3%, with similar usage in two- and three-receiver sets. In this game, with both of Green Bay’s primary slot receivers unavailable, Wicks moved inside for three-receiver sets, giving all three wideouts significant playing time. Wicks similarly filled the slot role in Weeks 2 and 3 following Reed’s injury, before the Packers later moved him back out and Golden to the slot. In two-receiver formations, Watson played a higher share than his 2024 average.
After Doubs’ injury, Heath and wide receiver/cornerback hybrid Bo Melton became more involved offensively. Williams, who had not played on offense before the injury, moved to the slot while Wicks returned to the perimeter.
The Packers’ wide receiver rotation will become much more complex once Doubs, Golden and Reed return. Wicks seems like the odd man out when it comes to rushing shares, but he was also Green Bay’s most targeted receiver in this game, catching four passes for 38 yards. The Packers have one of the most favorable remaining schedules for wide receivers, but with five players rotating regularly, it remains difficult for fantasy managers to predict who will deliver on any given week.
Green Bay is adapting without it Tucker Kraft: The Packers’ star tight end was placed on injured reserve and will not return this season.
Luke Musgrave and John FitzPatrick were the Packers’ backup tight ends this season, playing 29.8% and 24.9% of the snaps, respectively, through the first nine weeks. Musgrave had been the primary option in two-tight end sets, while FitzPatrick saw more playing time in single-tight end formations. Green Bay signed Josh Whyle from the practice squad to give the team additional depth at the position.
In this game, Musgrave served as Green Bay’s best part, although there was significant rotation. FitzPatrick logged notable snaps on 11 personnel on both early downs and third downs, while Whyle also stepped in for two-tight-end looks. The Packers used noticeably fewer multi-tight end sets than normal, which bodes well for the fantasy value of their wide receivers.
Musgrave caught three passes for 23 yards. He’s unlikely to match Tucker Kraft’s fantasy value because he runs fewer routes and isn’t as dynamic as a receiver. FitzPatrick could see more playing time if he outperforms Musgrave, but for now Musgrave remains outside the top 20 fantasy tight ends and should be cleared for waivers in most 10- or 12-team leagues.
The Eagles embrace a deeper running back rotation: Saquon Barkley played noticeably less for the second game in a row.
Barkley had averaged 76.4% of snaps in the 2024 regular season before garbage time, 81.7% in the playoffs and 81.9% through the first seven weeks of this season.
Last week he played just 59.3% of the snaps. He ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns, but suffered a groin injury and missed the entire fourth quarter. The Eagles had a bye last week and Barkley was a full participant in practice all week. Yet he was eliminated more than usual in this match. Will Shipley recorded a season-high four carries, while Tank Bigsby had multiple carries for the first time. Barkley had taken about two-thirds of third-down snaps this season, but Shipley served as the first third-down in this game. Barkley finished with 25 touches and saved his fantasy day with a 41-yard reception in the fourth quarter, though he was less effective on the ground than usual.
It’s possible this rotation was related to the recent injury, but it could also indicate a philosophical shift on the Eagles’ part after the bye game to keep Barkley fresher for the stretch run. It will be worth keeping an eye on whether he appears on the injury report on Wednesday, even as a full participant, and whether this backfield rotation continues next week.
Various comments
- Josh Jacobs had appeared on the injury report in recent weeks and played through it, logging between 50% and 60% of the snaps over the past three games. This week he returned to a much higher share, closer to what he saw earlier in the season.
- Philadelphia halfback AJ Dillon was a healthy inactive after lining up last week, denying him a revenge play. This left Philadelphia with three running backs on the roster.
- Philadelphia wide receiver AJ Brown was back in the lineup after missing last week with a hamstring injury. He was a full participant in training all week.
- The Eagles have embraced more plays with one wide receiver on the field, with at least six plays in each of the last three games in these personnel groups.
Table notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. These plays have been removed from the other three statistics.
- Objectives may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be the result of an obviously thrown pass, where the NFL could give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data does not.
- Carries are only possible on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward the total number of carries in the game.
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