Week 3 vs. Pittsburgh
If not for a dropped potential long TD catch, Jordan Matthews Week 2 numbers of 6-71-0 (9) may have been closer to his Week 1 numbers of 7-114-1 (14). Drops have hurt Matthews through his early career so far, and this season it's been a little of the same.
Nevertheless, Matthews is the team's top WR and will likely be targeted the most in a majority of the games. This week, he's ranked 22nd in standard leagues and is more of a lower-end WR2 option. The good news is it's a great matchup as the Steelers are just 31st in allowing fantasy points to the position. At some point, I would expect the Eagles to have to keep pace or play catchup against Pittsburgh, so Matthews should be a good play this week and someone who could out-shine his fantasy ranking as a result.
Week 2 at Chicago
Jordan Matthews put together a very nice game in Week 1. He caught seven balls for 114 yards and a TD. He was targeted 14 times but did have a few drops, something that has plagued him in his short career.
Matthews gets a big bump up or rankings this week to 13th, making him a borderline WR1 option against the Bears on Monday night. Chicago is 13th in allowing fantasy points to WRs so it's not a great matchup but the Texans managed to do some damage in the air in Week 1 and Matthews is the team's top target and should also be involved in the offense. He's shaping up to be a very nice Week 2 option.
Week 1 vs. Cleveland
Jordan Matthews took a low hit in camp and missed all of the preseason with a bruised knee. Matthews is good to go for Week 1, but with a new head coach and now a new quarterback there's some issues of uncertainty with Matthews.
Matthews does have a nice matchup against the Browns who were 29th in allowing fantasy points to WRs a year ago. Matthews comes into this week ranked 31st on our list making him a lower-end WR3 option. The matchup alone makes it tempting to play him this week, but with Carson Wentz taking over as the starting QB there may be some timing issues between the two that wouldn't have been there with Sam Bradford. He comes with risks, but Matthews is by far the team's top receiver who should collect a lot of targets.
Fantasy Upside
Jordan Matthews is once again poised to be the Eagles top receiver in 2016. Matthews started off well last year, but had some very inconsistent games especially in the middle of the season before finishing the final three games on a bit of a hot streak. His final three games saw him collect 21 catches for 317 yards with four TDs on 28 targets. Matthews mostly plays the slot and will likely continue to play there this season, so his size can create some mismatches. He had 8 TDs last year and four 100-plus yard performances. He should again be the feature WR for new head coach Doug Pederson as there are lots of questions at the position.
Fantasy Downside
Matthews had nine games with 54 receiving yards or less, so there were some inconsistencies to say the least. After dropping a key ball late in the game in Week 1, Matthews seemed to continue to let drops plague him, but did improve that aspect in the second half. Without Chip Kelly around, there are going to be a lot less plays run, which means less opportunities to put up numbers.
Bottom Line
Pederson and the Eagles will have to use Matthews similar to Jeremy Maclin in order not to see a dip in production. The good news is that's possible as Matthews is the top WR. Also, keep in mind the Eagles didn't always play at a fast pace last year. However, when you look at the rankings and the WRs around Matthews, guys like John Brown, Allen Hurns and Michael Floyd seem to have way more upside in that mid-fifth round range. I wouldn't pass on Matthews at the right spot in the draft, but it would probably have to be after some of the names above are off the board - perhaps more in the sixth round range for me.
Week 17 at New York Giants
Jordan Matthews made it back-to-back solid fantasy games with a 6-104-1 line last week against the Redskins. It followed an 8-159-1 line from Week 15, so Matthews has been on a nice roll as of late.
This week, it's another favorable matchup and Matthews sneaks up our charts a bit coming in as a solid WR2 option, ranked 17th at the position. The Giants are 30th in allowing fantasy points to WRs and this is shaping up to be a high-scoring affair. Matthews role should be safe even after Chip Kelly was fired on Tuesday night. The offense shouldn't change a lot this week and Matthews will remain a top target for QB Sam Bradford. As for Matthews' future, he has a nice connection with Bradford but Bradford isn't a lot to return next year. The Birds need to address the WR position and any kind of help on the outside will certainly help to free up Matthews who is expected to remain in the slot.
Week 16 vs. Washington
Jordan Matthews had one of his better games of the season with eight catches for 159 yards and a TD last week. He was targeted 11 times. The 159 yards is a season high.
Matthews gets a great matchup this week against the Redskins who are 25th in allowing fantasy points to WRs. Still, Matthews is just a WR3 option given his inconsistencies much of the year. While Weeks 13 and 14 he totaled just 36 and 19 yards, Matthews has three TDs over his last four games so he's definitely a favorite target of Sam Bradford right now. But, Matthews has been more boom or bust between Weeks 7-15 when you look at his yards: 14, 133, 21, 13, 60, 36, 19, 159. He's a better play if you feel like you're an underdog and need boom potential.
Week 15 vs. Arizona
Jordan Matthews had three catches for 19 yards last week on five targets. Matthews has been very up and down since a 9-133-1 line against the Cowboys in Week 9. He's posted as little as 21, 13 and 19 yards receiving with no TDs while his better outputs have been 36 and 60 yards with TDs in that span since Week 10.
On top of that, the Cards are 10th in allowing fantasy points to WRs so Matthews is ranked as just a WR4 this week on our list in a very tough matchup. It's a home, prime time game, but Matthews hasn't shown a whole lot to make owners feel good about starting him in lineups.
Week 14 vs. Bills
Jordan Matthews caught three balls for 36 yards and a TD last week. It was his fourth TD of the season and gives him back to back weeks with a score. The Birds scored three defensive/special team TDs last week so the offensive numbers took a hit as a result of just not running a lot of plays. Matthews has played pretty well with Sam Bradford throwing him the ball, but this week's matchup is a tough one against the Bills who are ninth in allowing fantasy points to WRs. Matthews comes in on our list at just 36th making him a very low end WR3 option.
Week 13 at New England
Jordan Matthews caught three balls for 60 yards last week and added his third TD of the season. He was targeted just five times and is averaging just under five targets over the last three games - which happens to be when Mark Sanchez took over at QB. That compares to an average of about nine targets a game when Sam Bradford was under center. And, Bradford could be back this week which seemingly gives a boost to Matthews. But Matthews is far down our list as a WR3 play - at best. The Patriots are 12th in allowing fantasy points to WRs, so, it's not a great matchup. But, the Birds are expected to have to throw a lot in this game.
Week 12 at Detroit
Jordan Matthews caught just four balls for 13 yards on four targets last week. After busting out in Week 9, he's totaled just seven catches for 34 yards on nine targets his last two games. The Eagles offense is a bit of a mess to say the least and even as the team's top WR threat, it's tough to trust Matthews as anything other than a WR3 fantasy option (which is about where he falls this week on our list). The Eagles play the Lions who are 16th in allowing fantasy points to WRs, so it's only an average matchups and the Lions have played pretty well on defense the last two weeks.
