Eagles Beat: The breakout season is on for TE Zach Ertz

Sep 18, 2014

Pretty much everyone who watched Eagles TE Zach Ertz this summer was predicting a breakout year. And through two games, those outlooks seem on-point. He has seven catches on 10 targets for 163 yards. All seven grabs have netted first downs. Six of the seven have been for 20 yards or more. No one in the NFL has more 20+ grabs than Ertz so far.

His 23.3 yards per reception is also a league-high.

Fantasy Impact:

The article does a good job of using pictures from All-22 film to break down how Ertz is making plays downfield. He is in the top 9 in both standard and PPR formats and has played 67 percent of his team's snaps. He is tied with LeSean McCoy for the 3rd-most targets (11) on the team, ahead of both Riley Cooper and Jordan Matthews. At this point, he looks like an every-week starter.

yesterday

Jets place WR Allen Lazard on IR

Ian Rapoport

yesterday · 3:42 PM EDT

The Jets are placing WR Allen Lazard on Injured Reserve because of a chest injury, sources say. Aaron Rodgers’ good friend and trusted target is out at least four games.

Fantasy Impact:

The long-awaited Mike Williams trade feels very unlikely to happen now, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's a fantasy target, either. Lazard is an easy drop anywhere he's dangling on the roster bubble, and we should see some heightened red-zone usage out of Wilson, Adams, and Tyler Conklin moving forward.

Browns TE David Njoku (ankle) misses practice with recurring injury

Mary Kay Cabot

yesterday · 3:37 PM EDT

Browns TE David Njoku missed practice today with his ankle injury. He missed 3 games with it earlier this season.

Related Players: Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy, Jordan Akins

Fantasy Impact:

It would be a huge bummer if Njoku were forced to miss time after putting up great back-to-back performances sans Watson at quarterback. Jordan Akins would be interesting for deep leagues in this scenario, though he only crested 9.0 half-PPR points in one game during Njoku's absence.

Eagles TE Dallas Goedert still absent from practice

Jeff McLane

yesterday · 2:25 PM EDT

DT Jalen Carter (shoulder) and G Landon Dickerson (knee) are at Eagles practice. Neither practiced on Wednesday.

TE Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and CB Darius Slay (groin) are still absent.

Related Players: Grant Calcaterra

Fantasy Impact:

It's looking like another Calcaterra week, which can be ignored in nearly all fantasy formats. Calcaterra crested 50 yards last week but delivered a 1-5-0 line back in Week 7. If Goedert is cleared before Week 9, he is very startable against a soft Jaguars defense.