Travis Fulgham did not suit up the first three games for the Philadelphia Eagles this year. But starting with two catches for 57 yards and a touchdown in Week 4 against the 49ers, he scored in four of five games with five catches for 73 yards in the lone exception. He had double-digit targets in each game of the middle three-game stretch, with 21 catches on 34 targets over that span.
From Week 4-Week 8, Fulgham was WR1 across the board (standard scoring, 0.5-point PPR, full PPR). Any fantasy manager that nabbed him off the waiver wire and started him was pretty happy over any piece of that stretch.
But over the final eight games of the season, Fulgham totaled nine catches for 104 yards (on 23 targets). Over the final six games, his playing time eroded. The return of Alshon Jeffery in Week 10 played a role in Fulgham’s snaps count being dinged. But it’s not as if the Eagles were flush with dynamic wide receivers.
So what happened?
A Fantasy Football Mystery: Travis Fulgham
Via Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia, regarding Fulgham, in a piece highlighting five Eagles’ players who should benefit most from a coaching change.
“There’s definitely something there. You don’t catch 29-for-435 with 4 TDs in your first five games with a new team if you don’t have ability. Pederson alluded a couple times to Fulgham’s work habits, and it was clear there was a growing disconnect between Fulgham and Pederson as the year went on. Fulgham got into Pederson’s doghouse and never got out. He caught only 9-for-104 yards the last eight games of the season, and his reps declined dramatically soon after his hot start. “
Pederson is of course former Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson, who apparently wasn’t too thrilled with Fulgham’s work habits. So a coaching change to Nick Sirianni, who has been a wide receivers’ coach, may help Fulgham.
The Eagles are sure to look hard at wide receivers in free agency and the draft. But Fulgham is getting a fresh start with a new head coach, and he should have an opportunity to earn a significant role in 2021.
