Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver A.J. Brown popped up on the team’s injury report on Friday, three days before their Week 2 Monday Night Football matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Brown is dealing with a hamstring injury and was limited in practice on Friday.
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Brown is coming off an impressive Week 1 performance in which he caught five passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown reception was a 67-yard explosive play to kick off the third quarter of an eventual 34-29 Eagles win over the Green Bay Packers.
Brown has emerged as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL since being acquired by the Eagles from the Tennessee Titans for a first-round pick during the 2022 NFL Draft.
In 2022, Brown caught 88 passes for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl appearance and All-Pro Second Team honor. In 2023, Brown caught a career-high 106 passes for 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl and earned All-Pro Second Team honors for the second straight season.
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Brown’s emergence has coincided with the rise of first-round pick DeVonta Smith. The Eagles’ top-10 pick in 2021 is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. In 2022, he had 95 receptions for 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns. Last year, he had 81 receptions for 1,066 yards and seven touchdowns.
Last week, Smith had a solid game, reeling in seven receptions for 84 yards.
Fantasy Football Impact of AJ Brown Injury
If Brown is forced to miss a game, Smith would rise in the fantasy wide receiver rankings. Brown had 10 targets to Smith’s eight in Week 1. Smith’s target share would greatly increase without Brown on the field.
In addition to the rise of Smith, both running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Dallas Goedert would be upgraded in fantasy rankings. Additionally, wide receiver Jahan Dotson would be a sneaky bench addition, as he could break out with a larger target share. He had just one target in Week 1.
For now, there’s no reason to believe Brown will be forced to sit out Monday night’s matchup. However, since he’s playing on Monday night, it’s better to be safe than sorry — Christian McCaffrey fantasy owners learned that the hard way last week.
Adding Dotson to your bench (if no other players playing Monday night are available) would be a great way to be safe.
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