Welcome to the twenty-eighth part of a thirty-two-part series: Reading the NFL Offseason Tea Leaves. Fantasy football tasseography is deeply rooted in predicting future fantasy fortunes. Some of the team tea cups we'll be looking into may be larger than others. The smallest of cups may have the most alluring blends of offensive weaponry, or be set to bloom after a long steep. This series will aid in your approach to Redraft and Dynasty leagues by bringing you up to date on:

• Free Agency
  • Re-signings, additions, who signed elsewhere, and what it means for fantasy.
• NFL Draft
  • What can we decipher about the direction a team is headed in based on their draft selections?
• Coaching Changes
  • Who's in, who's out, and how do the coaching philosophies translate to fantasy production?
• Fantasy Fortunes
  • What does this all mean for your fantasy football drafts?

Like tasseography, the arrangement of these four sections will vary as we digest each team's offseasons and see how the offensive pieces settle. Each article will interpret what this NFL team has told us about their future plans based on what they've done since their 2025 season ended.

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Reading the Philadelphia Eagles' 2026 Offseason

The AJ Brown Trade and New Rookie Faces

A.J. Brown is a New England Patriot, just as we all expected! In his place, the Eagles brought in veteran WRs Dontavion Wicks and Marquise Brown. Then they drafted Biletnikoff Award-winning WR Makai Lemon and John Mackey Award-winning TE Eli Stowers. Those awards mean they were the best in the country at their position in college.

How does Howie do it… Lemon is a fantastic route runner with impressive hands. Stowers is the best pass-catching TE in the class, but he offers nearly nothing as a blocker at this point of his career and will need to develop that aspect of his game.

Rookies to Watch & Veteran Goedert Re-Signs

Other notable rookies that were added via the draft are OT Markel Bell and QB Cole Payton. I watched both of these players at the Senior Bowl and have optimism for both in the Eagles organization. Bell is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-9 and nearly 350 lbs, but is a developmental piece. Payton is a mobile backup QB who needs additional time to develop his footwork and lower-body mechanics.

Dallas Goedert resigned on a 1-year deal this offseason. He will likely dominate the TE snaps since he can play inline as a blocker and has been a reliable receiving option for Jalen Hurts.

Coaching Changes

Former QB Sean Mannion has been brought in as the Offensive Coordinator. Mannion was with the Packers the last two years as an Offensive Assistant and Quarterback coach. Head Coach Nick Siranni's teams have been run-heavy, often being in the back half of the league in passes attempted.

Don't expect much to change in 2026 for this offense.

Saquon Barkley and the Backfield

With a run-heavy scheme, Saquon Barkley is going to be prominently featured. While last year was a "down year" in comparison to his 2,000-yard rushing season in 2024, he still finished RB14 in point per reception (PPR) leagues in 2025. Over the last four years, Saquon is averaging 299 carries and 57 targets. Saquon's ADP is currently outside of the first round.

If you want to lock up a high-floor, high-ceiling player, I would advise taking him ahead of his ADP. There aren't many safer picks or dynasty assets than Barkley.

If you want to handcuff Barkley, it's going to be difficult to select the right RB. Tank Bigsby, Elijah Mitchell, Dameon Pierce, Will Shipley, and Carson Steele are all on the roster. The Eagles traded for Bigsby midseason last year. I wouldn't advise handcuffing Barkley, but if you must, it's likely Bigsby.

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Jalen Hurts and the Passing Game

While he's not an RB, Hurts is perennially in the top 20 rushing TD scorers thanks to the tush push. Say what you want about how he scores rushing TDs, but we can't deny that it helps him sustain a high floor for fantasy. Hurts is headed towards another QB1 finish in 2026.

The departure of Brown elevates Devonta Smith to the WR1 role in this offense. His current ADP has baked in this upside, and the price of admission is likely going to be worth it. Smith is a former Heisman Trophy winner and is currently in the age peak of his career. Another 1,000-yard season is on the horizon for Smith.

Fantasy Fortunes

Many analysts are worried about Lemon's fit with Jalen Hurts, since Lemon operates well in the middle of the field and Hurts doesn't target that area often. The Biletnikoff Award winner runs a full route tree and should win the WR2 role in this offense. Lemon and Devonta Smith can both win on the outside, but it will likely be Smith taking the majority of the work as an X receiver.

This offense should support a QB1, RB1, a backend WR1 to high-end WR2 in Smith, a fringe WR3, and a TE2 in 2026. If Stowers can play greater than 60 percent of snaps, he may also be in the TE2 conversation. Fire up your studs from this team and target the rookies in dynasty leagues.

Cam White is a Senior Analyst & Host at Optimus Fantasy. You can find more of his work on our YouTube channel, and make sure to follow him on Bluesky.