Injuries are running rampant in the NFL, and the Eagles were affected in a big way ahead of their Week 2 game vs. Atlanta. Now, it looks like they’ll be affected even longer.

Wide receiver A.J. Brown picked up a hamstring injury during the final heavy practice of the week, which caused him to miss Monday night’s matchup. Brown’s absence forced DeVonta Smith into the WR1 role and caused players like Jahan Dotson, Britain Covey, and Johnny Wilson into bigger roles. 

When healthy, the Eagles have one of the best offenses in the NFL. Jalen Hurts is a dual-threat quarterback and can hurt defenses on the ground and through the air. He has plenty of options, including Saquon Barkley, Brown, Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert. The absence of Brown is a huge blow to the passing attack, and the Eagles need him back sooner rather than later. Here are the latest updates on Brown’s injury. 

A.J. Brown injury update

With an extra day to prepare this week, there was hope that Brown could play on Monday night. He was initially considered “questionable” but then labeled “doubtful.” The hope was that it was a minor injury and that Brown would need one week to be good to go.

#Eagles WR AJ Brown has been downgraded to out with a hamstring injury for Monday night.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 15, 2024

However, during the ‘Monday Night Football’ broadcast, Lisa Salters reported that Brown told her he does “expect to miss a couple of weeks.” 

Per @saltersl on the Monday Night Football broadcast, she spoke to AJ Brown about his hamstring injury and while “he does not think it’s too serious, he does expect to miss a couple of weeks.”

The injury occurred while running a route in practice on Friday.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 17, 2024

Eagles upcoming schedule

Eagles wide receiver depth chart

1. DeVonta Smith

Smith has been in the league for four years. He has played in 51 games and has 3,262 yards with 19 touchdowns. He was set to play under the final year of his rookie contract in 2024, but Philadelphia picked up his fifth-year option and signed him to an extension, keeping him in an Eagles uniform through the 2028 season. He should thrive as a No. 1 option.

2. Jahan Dotson

Dotson was a first-round pick of the Washington Commanders in the 2022 NFL Draft. He played in 29 games for Washington, but they decided to move on from him and traded him and a draft pick to Philadelphia for three draft picks. He’s had big games in the past and should be a solid fill-in with more opportunities.

3. Johnny Wilson

Wilson is a rookie that the Eagles drafted in the sixth round of this year’s NFL draft. He played at Arizona State and Florida State in college. The 6-6 WR/TE hybrid hasn’t had many opportunities, but he could be a red-zone weapon, if nothing else.

4. Britain Covey

Covey joined the Eagles after going undrafted in 2022. He played for Utah in college, starting in 2015 and ended in 2021. Covey missed the 2016 and 2017 seasons because he was on a religious mission trip in Chile. He could be a useful possession receiver in key situation.

5. Parris Campbell

Campbell was a second-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts in 2019 out of Ohio State.  He played out his rookie deal with the Colts and then signed with the New York Giants in 2023. After one season, Campbell signed another one-year deal with Philly, but he was cut and then added to the practice squad. 

A.J. Brown fantasy football outlook

Brown was a top wide receiver in the 2024 fantasy football drafts. His average draft position was WR6, ninth overall in half-PPR scoring formats. Losing your likely first- or second-round pick is never a good thing for your roster. You may have decent depth at the position, but it isn’t likely that you can slot in someone who will get the kind of points you’d expect from Brown. He’s a hold (or buy low) until he gets back.

Smith gets a boost as the WR1 in the offense, but after that, it could be a week-to-week hot hand on the Eagles. Hurts likes to scramble, so he could target just whoever can get separation from the defense. If you had to go with someone from Philly, the next man up would likely be Dotson, but that will be a dice roll until Brown returns. 

With injuries to Deebo Samuel, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua (among other WRs), there should be some value on the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles wide receiver Demarcus Robinson is rostered in 33.6 percent of ESPN leagues and has had at least four targets in each game so far this season.  San Francisco’s Jauan Jennings also has at least four targets in each game and is rostered in only 1.4 percent of ESPN leagues.