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Fantasy football

Fantasy QB shuffle: Eagles trade Bradford, will start Wentz

Steve Gardner
USA TODAY Sports

It's definitely no fun when the focal point of a team's offense is unexpectedly lost for an extended period of time.

Sam Bradford threw for 3,725 yards and 19 touchdowns last season for the Eagles.

Fantasy owners are understandably panicking with the recent injuries to quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Tony Romo.

But don't expect the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys to go into the tank offensively with new QBs running the show. Both teams rely primarily on their running games -- and if defenses decide to stack the line to stop the run, it can open up some passing lanes.

MINNESOTA

Bridgewater suffered a torn ACL in practice Tuesday and will miss the entire 2016 season.

Vikings acquire QB Sam Bradford in trade with Eagles

With veteran Shaun Hill, 36, next in line to take over under center, the Vikings traded away a first- and fourth-round draft pick to acquire Sam Bradford from the Philadelphia Eagles. Bradford wasn't really going to be a fantasy factor in Philly anyway, but he does get a slight upgrade going to an offense that figures to be somewhat respectable. But consider him only as a bye-week replacement at this point. Bradford's had trouble staying healthy throughout his career, so Hill could see the field as well this season.

If there's any running back who can produce no matter who's playing quarterback, it's Adrian Peterson. In 2012, he rushed for over 2,000 yards with Christian Ponder calling signals. The only player in the NFL with more than 300 carries last season (327, for 1,485 yards), Peterson should be an even better bet to pass that mark with Bridgewater out.

He's never had fewer than 10 rushing touchdowns in a full season -- and with Hill (or whomever else they might sign or acquire) at quarterback, Peterson should see even more touches in the red zone.

Bridgewater's absence will have more of an impact in the passing game. He had 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season, throwing for 3,231 yards. While he was expected to improve in his age-23 season, it's going to be harder for wide receivers Stefon Diggs, Charles Johnson and rookie Laquon Treadwell to put up decent fantasy numbers with a new quarterback this close to the season starting. Ditto for tight end Kyle Rudolph. At least Bradford's strong arm gives the receivers a chance to be roughly where they were on fantasy draft boards before Bridgewater went down.

PHILADELPHIA

Rookie Carson Wentz has been announced as the Eagles' Week 1 starter. While a decent matchup in the opener against Cleveland will keep running back Ryan Mathews, wideout Jordan Matthews and especially tight end Zach Ertz fantasy-relevant, Wentz has little value right now outside of dynasty leagues. If anyone benefits from him starting over Chase Daniel, it could be running back Darren Sproles, who could see a lot more targets out of the backfield.

Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson makes it official: Carson Wentz is the starter

He was the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, so there's plenty of upside down the line -- and we have seen rookie quarterbacks succeed before. However, he's in a more difficult situation than either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota were last season so keep expectations for Wentz in check as the season begins.

DALLAS

Romo is expected to miss at least six weeks, perhaps as many as 10, as he recovers from two broken bones in his back. That puts rookie Dak Prescott in charge of the offense for the first half of the season.

The Cowboys will also rely heavily on another rookie -- running back Ezekiel Elliott, whom they selected with the fourth overall pick in this year's draft. The biggest question surrounding Elliott is how much playing time he'll receive early on as he and Prescott adapt to the NFL game. The Cowboys also have veteran running back Alfred Morris -- who's looked good in preseason -- and last year's starter Darren McFadden also on the depth chart.

Fantasy football cheat sheet: Position rankings

Elliott has been a borderline first-round pick in drafts this season (ADP 7.4 in 12-team standard leagues, 8.7 in 12-team PPR) and according to FantasyFootballCalculator.com, his draft status has actually risen since Romo was injured.

On the other hand, wide receiver Dez Bryant's value has fallen from an average of eighth overall last week to his current spot of 15th.

No other Dallas wideout is even being taken among the top 65 receivers. Tight end Jason Witten may see a few more catches as Prescott's safety valve, but his status as an average 13th-rounder is basically unchanged.

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