New
York Giants
On the flip side, the New
York Giants have made a bunch of moves that could bring their skill players
back into fantasy prominence. Primarily, we saw the NYG poach new Offensive
Coordinator, Ben McAdoo, out of Green Bay. With the Giants seemingly looking to
insert some concepts out of the Packers’ Vertical West Coast scheme, we can
expect an uptick in offensive production once the wheels get in motion.
Additionally, we saw the Giants make two shrewd football moves to re-brand the
offensive line that was largely disappointing last year. They signed the
aforementioned power-LG Geoff Schwartz, and drafted a plug-and-play day 1
starting center in Weston Richburg to bring both elements of physicality and
football IQ to the 2014 unit. Bringing in a “stretch the field” OC and
revamping the run game were telling signs of the type of offense they want to
run and the personnel they need to work effectively.
When we look at the RB’s we see a consistent and productive
running back in Rashad Jennings who
miraculously found a way to stay relevant in some of the worst offenses in the
last couple of years with the Jaguars and Raiders. This is a testament to his
hard work and advanced knowledge of the intricacies of the NFL run game. It is
unfair to expect him to be a top tier fantasy RB, but don’t be surprised if by
seasons end he has proven to be a reliable RB2 for your fantasy teams. We can
expect him to carry a fair portion of the load along with the mysterious David Wilson, and rookie bruiser Andre Williams. I say mysterious
because it is hard to imagine that Wilson has only 504 rushing yards in his career
to go along with 5 TD’s. While it is clear that he has Spiller-like,
game changing potential; his inconsistency and injuries make him one of the
most polarizing fantasy prospects going forward. His only career 100 yard
rushing game came in 2012 against a historically bad NO Saints run defense that
the Giants chewed up for 52 points. Even further, the bulk of his production in
this game came from a long 52 yd TD run late in the 4th quarter with
the game already severely out of hand. But the potential is there if the
offense can use him as a change of pace RB for 8-10 touches a game, giving him
Flex potential in your fantasy lineups but not much more.
The passing game is a different story. The Giants brought in
Odell Beckham Jr. who will start
stretching the field both horizontally and vertically with his outstanding
physical gifts, knowledge of the game, and his pass catching ability. Despite
being only 5”11 and a shade under 200 lbs., Beckham shows both the
aggressiveness and athleticism to go up and get it. He should be able to step
into Hakeem Nicks’ spot on the outside to draw some attention away from the
oft-doubled, Victor Cruz, which will
be a huge priority moving forward. After a significant fantasy drop off last
year, Cruz could be in for a year more similar to that of 2012 where he broke
1,000 receiving yards and 10 TD’s. With these changes in hand, we could see Eli Manning get back to the days of
fantasy relevance as a low end QB1. With both of the aforementioned changes on
the offensive line, production out of the run game, and keeping Eli on his
feet, could have the passing game open for business on Sundays at Giants
Stadium.
Stay tuned for more as preseason lurks around the corner.
Jeremy Levinson TWITTER!!!!
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