The NFC East boasted one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL in 2022, with all teams finishing at or above .500 and the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys making the playoffs – all advancing to the Divisional Round.

The superstars across those teams are obvious. But each of those teams offers some of the more intriguing position battles. Let’s dive into these ADP-friendly position battles and discuss which players offer strong value plays.

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2023 Position Battles to Watch

Giants WRs

• Isaiah Hodgins (ADP: 163 | WR72)
• Parris Campbell (ADP: 172 | WR76)
• Jalin Hyatt (ADP: 192 | WR82)
• Darius Slayton (ADP: 196 | WR83)
• Wan’Dale Robinson (ADP: 200 | WR85)
• Sterling Shepard (ADP: 251 | WR107)

Parris Campbell’s offseason hype peaked with rumors that Campbell will be utilized in a Deebo Samuel type of role. I struggle to see the vision of using an oft-injured receiver in such a physically demanding role, so I’m evaluating Campbell purely as a traditional receiver.

Campbell does have lead receiver potential within the Giants’ offense. After playing a total of 15 games over the first three years of his career, Campbell finally played a full season. Campbell finally showcased his explosive upside with high-volume performances, including a 10-reception performance for over 20 PPR fantasy points.

Campbell will have to contend with incumbent receivers Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard. Shepard has been the traditional target hog within the Giants’ offense, but coming off a torn ACL at age 30 places him behind Campbell. Hodgins and Slayton emerged as prominent pieces of the Giants’ offense in the back half of 2022. Weeks 10 through 17, Hodgins was WR21 in PPR, averaging 11.5 fantasy points per game. His role became more prominent in Week 13, where he averaged 15.2 fantasy points per game through his final regular season games.

Slayton’s role was a bit more inconsistent, but over the course of his active games, he averaged around 10 fantasy points per game, making him a low-end WR3. Slayton will likely continue to take a backseat, making him more of a bye-week waiver wire fill-in. But Hodgins has strong value as a late-round sleeper.

The Giants have youth with Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt, but Robinson is still recovering from a significant injury. Robinson warrants monitoring in deep leagues if he’s available to start the season. Hyatt reportedly saw reps on the third team during minicamp and should not be a target even within deep leagues.

Conclusion:

• Target: Parris Campbell, Isaiah Hodgins
• Risky: Sterling Shepard, Wan’Dale Robinson
• Dart throw: Darius Slayton
• AVOID: Jalin Hyatt

Eagles RBs

• D’Andre Swift (ADP: 78 | RB23)
• Rashaad Penny (ADP: 117 | RB38)
• Kenneth Gainwell (ADP: 161 | RB51)
• Boston Scott (ADP: 342 | RB102)

In 2022, the Eagles had the third-most rush attempts, fifth-most rushing yards and the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL. Despite Jalen Hurts‘ contributions and a committee backfield, the Eagles still produced a high-end RB2 in Miles Sanders. Sanders saw a total of 259 carries for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns – all up for grabs with Sanders exiting in free agency. D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny are the most likely candidates to take over as the team’s RB1.

Swift is a high-upside play and the first Eagles running back off the board with Penny recovering from injury. The only downside to Swift’s role in the offense is that his upside technically doesn’t fit into the offensive philosophy of the Eagles. In 2021, he had 62 receptions in 13 games, a 17-game pace that would place him at just over 80 receptions – an overall RB1 type of workload. Unfortunately for Swift, that type of workload won’t exist in the Eagles’ offense.

We have no timeline on Penny’s availability, but when he’s healthy, Penny should thrive within the Eagles’ offense. Penny brings a career 5.7 yards per carry to the best offensive line in the league. Kenneth Gainwell is an intriguing option; the third-year back has played all but one game in his career and, despite being an undersized back, has been a reliable goal-line back when called upon. Boston Scott should see a similar usage in 2022.

This backfield is difficult to categorize. Swift and Penny are both fine targets given the ADP but both are inherently risky players.

Conclusion:

• Target: D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny
• Risky: D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny
• Dart throw: Kenneth Gainwell
• AVOID: Boston Scott

Cowboys TEs

• Jake Ferguson (ADP: 206 | TE28)
• Luke Schoonmaker (ADP: 259 | WR37)

The Cowboys’ tight end room might seem like a full fade, but it’s one to monitor for deep leagues, tight end-premium leagues and getting ahead of the curve on waiver wire adds. The tight end position has been a critical part of the Cowboys’ offense and is typically one of Dak Prescott‘s favorite targets. In 2022, Dalton Schultz was the second-leading receiving option within the Dallas offense, with 57 receptions on 89 targets and five touchdowns. The Cowboys signed Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup is further removed from his injury, so the targets could tilt towards the receiving corps. But, there’s still a strong possibility that one tight end could emerge as fantasy relevant.

Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot combined for 30 receptions on 38 targets, with four touchdowns in 2022. Ferguson has the most direct path to TE1, but it’s tough to ignore Schoonmaker’s draft capital. The only problem is that Schoonmaker profiles as more of a developmental tight end. He’s athletic and has the attributes for success at the NFL level. Still, with just 54 total receptions and seven total touchdowns at Michigan, he’s a raw talent compared to rookies like Dalton Kincaid and Michael Mayer.

Both Ferguson and Schoonmaker have a realistic shot at a low-end TE1 finish if one can earn even a portion of the volume vacated by Schultz, and their ADPs offer low risk.

Conclusion:

• Target: Jake Ferguson
• Risky: None
• Dart throw: Luke Schoonmaker
• AVOID: None

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