• Tucker Kraft is developing into the Green Bay Packers’ best tight end: Kraft consistently took the lead Luke Musgrave in single tight end sets.

• DeVonta Smith played as the Philadelphia Eagles’ primary slot receiver: Smith played in the slot more often than all of the Eagles’ other wide receivers combined.

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

PFF’s fantasy football review focuses on player usage and statistics, providing all the essential information you need for fantasy success in 2024.

Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles

• Saquon Barkley: 24 runs, 109 yards, 2 touchdowns; 2 passes caught, 23 yards gained, 1 touchdown gained

• Jayden Reed: 4 pass catches, 138 yards, 1 touchdown; 1 run, 33 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown

Tucker Kraft is the TE1 of the Packers: Power seems to be completely outdated Luke Musgrave as the Packers’ best tight end.

Musgrave, a second-round pick of the Packers in 2023, began his rookie year as the clear top tight end, playing at least 67% of the snaps in eight of his first nine games.

In contrast, Kraft, a third-round pick from the same class, was limited at the start, playing 13 or fewer snaps in his first four games, but gradually got more playing time as the season went on.

When Musgrave suffered an ankle sprain that sidelined him for six weeks, Kraft stepped in and played at least 90% of the snaps. Even after Musgrave returned in a limited capacity for the playoffs, Kraft continued to play over 80% of the snaps.

Tonight, the tight ends followed the same pattern: Kraft rarely left the field and Musgrave only played in formations with two or more tight ends.

Anyone who drafted Musgrave in redraft leagues can drop him. Kraft will be considered as a waiver wire candidate.

Kraft averaged 9.9 fantasy points per game as a starter last season, which puts him roughly TE11, but the Packers also struggled with several injuries during that time. He wasn’t a huge part of the offense in this game, but should catch a few balls on a regular basis each game. He’s a good option for someone looking for a handcuff, but at this point, it’s unlikely he’ll be a top-12 tight end most weeks on a regular basis.

The Packers use a predictable rotation of wide receivers: Most fantasy managers probably wanted more playing time for their favorite Packers receiver.

Romeo Doubs was a clear wide receiver in the starting lineup and left the field only for a few games, which Bo Melton took. Christian Watson And Dontayvion Wicks competed for the other outside spot, with Watson playing more snaps in the 11-man personnel and Wicks playing more in the 12-man personnel. Jayden Reed only played in the 11th team, which corresponds to his appearance last season.

It’s risky to start either of these wide receivers in fantasy lineups. Doubs runs most of the routes but averaged just 10.3 fantasy points per game last season. And while Doubs scored multiple touchdowns last season, Watson had three end zone targets tonight, suggesting the team might place value on giving Watson the ball in scoring situations.

Watson still needs to make big plays – he scored a touchdown tonight but otherwise did little. As for Wicks, he didn’t play enough to justify a starting spot.

That leaves Reed, who had by far the best game of the Packers receivers tonight. In a close game, Green Bay relied heavily on 11 players and faced a defense that allowed the most receiving yards to slot receivers last season. Reed had to deal with Avonte Maddox, who averaged a league-high 2.22 yards per coverage snap last season, the worst among defenders with at least 75 coverage snaps.

It is difficult for wide receivers who only play in the 11-man team, Consistent fantasy starters, and even Melton played in the 11th personnel category ahead of Reed.

There will be games this season where the Packers will have a lead and use more 12-man teams, reducing Reed’s playing time. Other weeks, the other wide receivers could make big plays.

DeVonta Smith is the Eagles’ slot receiver: This will be great news for his future fantasy production.

This offseason, there was speculation that Smith could play more in the slot. He studied CeeDee Lamb this offseason and has a much higher average of yards per route run from the slot. It is a important position in Kellen Moore’s offense.

Although Smith did not play in the slot for 100% of the 11-personnel snaps, he played in about three-quarters of those snaps, which was significantly more than last season.

When Smith was out of the slot, AJ Brown often filled that role with similar slot rates to last season. Smith had a solid performance with seven receptions for 84 yards, but his use in this game suggests there could be much bigger games ahead for him this season.

Saquon Barkley leads the Eagles: Barkley started most of the offensive games, much to the delight of fantasy managers.

In recent seasons, head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore have relied on rotations in the backfield, but after Barkley signed a big contract, the consensus was that would not be the case this season.

Barkley played all 17 snaps on the first three drives. He was then rested for three plays on the fourth drive, and on the fifth drive he took a timeout in the middle of the drive and did not return until the third quarter.

It was not reported during the game if he had sustained a minor injury, but it seemed possible. However, he returned in the second half and played every snap on several drives.

It is worth mentioning that Kenneth Gainwell served as the primary backup, playing whenever Barkley was not on the field. He seems to be the handcuff should Barkley ever get injured. Will Shipley played in sets with two running backs, but was often put on the move and lined up more like a wide receiver than a running back.

Barkley has always been a weekly must-starter, but this heavy workload increases the chances that he finishes the season as a top-five fantasy running back.

Miscellaneous notes

• Packers rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd was inactive due to a thigh injury. He was limited in training. Emmanuel Wilson was limited in training all week due to a hip injury.

• Josh Jacobs played most of the time tonight because of the injuries. It was notable that Jacobs was often on the field for third-and-long, which was not the case when he played with the Las Vegas Raidersbut we won’t get a better sense of the Packers’ running back rotation until Lloyd and even Wilson are healthy.

• Malik Heath was the sixth wide receiver in the Packers’ rankings and was inactive due to health reasons.

• Jordan Love suffered an injury in the last 10 seconds of the game. His injury will be worth monitoring. If he misses time, Malik Willis will be the starter and it will be even harder to trust a Packers player in the fantasy starting lineup.

Notes on the table

• Snaps include plays that were called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. These plays have been removed from the other three statistics.