Carson Wentz Fantasy: Should You Start or Sit the Eagles QB in Week 3?

Carson Wentz

Getty Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz has been cleared to play in Week 3.

The Philadelphia Eagles gave both their fans and fantasy football owners something to be excited about on Monday. While quarterback Carson Wentz has been unable to play over the first two weeks of the season due to his injury from last season, that’s set to change heading into Week 3.

Head coach Doug Pederson revealed during the team’s press conference Monday that the former No. 2 pick has been medically cleared and will start Sunday.

It’s big news for the quarterback who suffered a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee during the 2017 season. But the question now becomes, how should fantasy football owners approach Wentz’s return to the field?


Can Carson Wentz Thrive in First Game Back?

Gauging how a player will look coming back from an injury can be a daunting task. But in this instance, Wentz looks like a safe play from a fantasy perspective for a few reasons.

Coming off a superb sophomore campaign in which he threw for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns in just 13 games, Wentz was just beginning to hit his stride before suffering the injury. The Eagles signal caller was also incredibly safe with the ball, throwing just seven interceptions over 440 passing attempts in 2017.

The play of Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in his first game back from injury likely causes some pause for fantasy owners, though. Watson threw for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception while completing just 50 percent of his passes, but faced a tough New England Patriots defense.


Wentz Draws Solid Fantasy Matchup in Week 3

Wentz and the Eagles will welcome the Indianapolis Colts to town in Week 3, making it an appealing matchup. While the Colts have been better this season to some extent, they’ve still shown the potential to give up big yardage numbers to opposing quarterbacks.

The Colts have given up 249 yards per game on average through the air this season, and haven’t faced a quarterback with the type of upside Wentz offers to this point. In Week 1, Indianapolis allowed Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton to complete 21-of-28 passes for 243 yards. The encore performance was better (since it was a win), but Redskins signal caller Alex Smith still totaled 292 yards.

While we’re only through two weeks, it’s unknown exactly how good the Colts defense will be, but they did allow the fifth-most yards per game through the air in 2017 (246.6).

Both sides of the argument can be made, but most fantasy owners of Wentz are unlikely to have a backup with a ceiling nearly as high as the Eagles quarterback. Based on the matchup and belief Philadelphia wouldn’t roll him out unless he was truly 100 percent, Wentz is a start for fantasy football owners this week.

The only potential argument to not start Wentz would be in a 10-team league where you have a very good second quarterback in a great matchup.

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