Philadelphia Eagles - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Zach Ertz or Jimmy Graham?

by Mike Rose

12/1/17

NFL

Philadelphia Eagles

Zach Ertz

A huge matchup is set to occur at CenturyLink Field in Seattle on Sunday Night Football when the Seahawks welcome the Philadelphia Eagles for the first time since last season.

In this upcoming tilt, tight ends Zach Ertz and Jimmy Graham will be on center stage as they have had great seasons for their respective teams. Ertz had a season-high 10 receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown last week, while Graham continued his hot streak of three consecutive games in which he’s scored. He has four touchdowns in that span.

Fantasy Matchup: Zach Ertz (11.0 PFP) vs. Jimmy Graham (11.5 PFP)

Ertz has averaged 13.24 Dober Fantasy Points per game this season. Though he’s averaged more than Graham to date, he enters this matchup the half-point underdog. Ertz is a part of the league’s No. 15 passing attack while Seattle’s ranks No. 7, so it makes sense that Ertz is the slight underdog. As far as total offense in the NFL, Philadelphia is ranked No. 3 overall.

Ertz has blown up this season as the No. 2 tight end in fantasy football. He’s scored seven touchdowns on 55 receptions to go along with 639 yards and an 11.6 yards per catch average. Last week, he recorded 22.3 Dober Fantasy Points in a season-high effort. He’ll get to face a Seahawks defense that hasn’t been very efficient against tight ends, as they rank below average at No. 21 against the position.

The Seattle defense has also allowed 213.4 passing yards per game to opposing offenses. Despite scoring for the first time since Week 8 in his last time out, Ertz could continue his momentum against Seattle. He remains a top option at the position, so you should definitely place him on your Dober Play Cards.

His play has been consistent throughout the year, but one stat that stands out is the fact that he’s only scored two of his seven touchdowns away from home. Don’t get discouraged, though. This doesn’t mean he can’t score away from the home crowd, so don’t shy away.

Meanwhile, Graham has also been playing very well in 2017. He’s averaged 10.84 Dober Fantasy Points as fantasy’s No. 4 tight end. He has scored eight touchdowns (three at home) to go along with 49 receptions for 447 yards and a 9.1 yards per catch average. As mentioned, four of his scores have come in the last three games, so Graham has been on fire as of late as well.

During this span, he leads the Seahawks in targets, receptions and receptions per targets. His touchdowns in the stretch actually rank second in the NFL. The only downside is that Philadelphia has allowed the fewest points to tight ends in the last five weeks and ranks No. 16 versus the position overall.

This game isn’t only going to be between two elite teams, but there are many positional battles that are going to be on display including Ertz versus Graham. This Dober matchup could honestly go either way as evidenced by the half-point projected difference. It’s hard for me to even choose, but for now I’m going with Graham. Why? It’s simple: the “12th Man.”

Week 13 Fantasy Projection: Jimmy Graham (+0.5) vs. Zach Ertz