The Philadelphia Eagles are pretty much set at every single fantasy football-relevant position. Jalen Hurts will throw to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith for the foreseeable future, and Dallas Goedert is one of the better pass-catching tight ends in the league. They took all of that and added Saquon Barkley to the mix, meaning that the draft would be spent elsewhere. They took two defensive backs in the first 40 picks, and followed it up with an Edge rusher. As such, they didn’t take running back Will Shipley until the fourth round, and wide receivers Ainias Smith & Johnny Wilson in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively. There likely isn’t much gold to mine in these players, but we will take a look, anyway. Let’s dive in!
FULL PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 2024 DRAFT RESULTS
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 22 | Quinyon Mitchell | DB | Toledo |
| 2 | 40 | Cooper DeJean | CB | Iowa |
| 3 | 94 | Jalyx Hunt | EDGE | Houston Christian |
| 4 | 127 | Will Shipley | RB | Clemson |
| 5 | 152 | Ainias Smith | WR | Texas A&M |
| 5 | 155 | Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. | LB | Clemson |
| 5 | 172 | Trevor Keegan | OG | Michigan |
| 6 | 185 | Johnny Wilson | WR | FSU |
| 6 | 190 | Dylan McMahon | OC | NC State |
Round 4, Pick 127 Overall: Will Shipley, Running Back, Clemson (5’11” 206 lbs)
Talent:
The King of the Texas route, Will Shipley doesn’t do much running back stuff. If you gave him 30 pounds and three inches, he would be a pretty decent Kyle Juszczyk clone. He is very good in the open field, and is a dynamic kick returner. Unfortunately, he is physically incapable of making it to the second level, and to the open field, where he shines. He gets killed at the line of scrimmage, because he’s too small, and his vision is terrible. He’ll have a spot on an NFL roster as a kick returner and a scat back, but I don’t expect much else out of him at the NFL level.
NFL Comparison: Ty Chandler
2024 Opportunity:
The Philadelphia Eagles have been a running back by committee in recent seasons, though that seems to have more to do with the talent levels of the running backs on their roster than any sort of philosophical approach. With Saquon Barkley now joining the fray, everyone else likely gets put off to the side to funnel touches to the highly skilled back. Shipley opens the season as the RB3, behind Barkley and Gainwell. If Barkley goes down to injury, then it’s likely that Gainwell and Shipley split the touches, making him a 1B if the starting running back goes down. There’s not much opportunity to gain here for fantasy football purposes, as the Eagles likely split the touches between Gainwell and Shipley should the unthinkable happen to Saquon Barkley.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
Should the Eagles lose Saquon Barkley for an extended period, then Will Shipley becomes the #4 target on the offense in a shared time role… so you don’t have to worry about him a ton, unless things go disastrously in Philly.
TALENT:
2024 OPPORTUNITY:
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Round 4, Pick 152 Overall: Ainias Smith, Wide Receiver, Texas A&M (5’9” 190 lbs)
Talent:
Ainias Smith is a monster with the football in his hand, which is what makes him such a great return man. The Aggies used him as a receiver, a returner, and a running back in his time with the team, and that will be his primary role in the NFL: jack of all trades, and a master of none. He presses the issue in his route stems, but he has heavy feet that make his breaks leave a bit to be desired. Once he gets the ball, defenses struggle to stop him, but getting him the ball is the hard part, as he just doesn’t work himself open except against zone. In the end, Smith feels more like a weapon to help an offense than someone we worry about for fantasy football. That is, unless he ends up somewhere with a talent-shallow wide receiver room like New England, Pittsburgh, or the Chargers.
Ultimately, Smith abandons the ability to hit singles or doubles by trying to hit home runs, making him an inconsistent option for an offense. That means that he is unlikely to make his way up the depth chart, at least not without refinement.
2024 Opportunity:
So much for a talent-shallow wide receiver room? Smith is, at best, the WR3 and the fifth option for the Eagles on any given play. He should stretch the field to make it easier underneath for guys like Dallas Goedert, Saquon Barkley & A.J. Brown. But, I doubt he tops 45 targets this season.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
I would love to see Ainias Smith get a ton of targets, mostly because it means that the Eagles once again fell apart in hilarious fashion. But I won’t bet on that; he’s not fantasy-relevant.
TALENT:
2024 OPPORTUNITY:
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Round 6, Pick 185 Overall: Johnny Wilson, Wide Receiver, FSU (6’6” 231)
Talent:
Johnny Wilson is massive, which is the first thing that comes to mind when you watch him. He combines this with good late hands and the ability to leverage his size well to make himself an ideal 50/50 ball candidate at the NFL level. He would work a lot better as a tight end, as his good-not-great route running isn’t very impressive when it comes from a wide receiver (think Devin Funchess or Kelvin Benjamin) but works a lot better when it comes from a tight end. If he converts he could have a rookie Marques Colston season (in reverse) in him, but it’s going to take some coaching to turn his extremely raw skills into a useful fantasy football option. That having been said, he is still an intriguing day-three prospect.
NFL Comparison: Devin Funchess
2024 Opportunity:
Just before selecting Johnny Wilson in the draft, the Eagles locked up both DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown to long-term deals and also selected Ainias Smith. Wilson will likely be a big red zone weapon thanks to both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith failing to top 6’0”. Other than that, I don’t see where the targets really come into play.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
You’re looking at a lot of injuries in the Eagles’ wide receiver room before Wilson has sustained fantasy football relevance. That being said, he will probably win someone a lot of money when they throw him in as a punt play in DFS and he scores two touchdowns.
