New York Giants: Top Five Fantasy Football Players
The New York Giants recently played their first preseason game. The NFL preseason is used for coaches to evaluate their players including both veterans and rookies. Fantasy football players also use the NFL preseason to help create their own strategies and evaluate players from a different kind of perspective. Coach Ben McAdoo has plenty of talented players on the offensive side of the ball to evaluate this season. There are a few players that have the ability to immediately make an impact for the New York Giants. Here are the top five fantasy football players on their team.
Odell Beckham
This pick is pretty self explanatory. Odell Beckham is a fantasy football monster. He is widely considered to be one of the best wide receiver options with only Antonio Brown ahead of him. Now that rookie head coach Ben McAdoo has full control of the team, Beckham has the potential to be one of the best fantasy football options overall.
A big part of Odell Beckham’s production has to do with the type of offense he’s in. The West coast offense suits Beckham’s attributes very well. This specific type of offense mainly consists of short passes and screens. While Beckham can be a very dangerous deep threat, he is also very agile and can fake out defenders at the drop of a hat. Beckham should be able to wrack up an abundance of catches which makes him especially valuable in PPR leagues.
Sterling Shepard
Rookie sensation Sterling Shepard has to be the “value” fantasy draft pick of the year. the New York Giants’ rookie already turned heads in his first preseason game. Shepard made an impressive 24-yard catch and almost scored a touchdown on one of the following plays in his preseason debut. Keep in mind that Shepard looked this good with Ryan Nassib throwing him the ball.
Eli Manning
Eli Manning is probably one of the most undervalued fantasy football players on the New York Giants. Manning has the potential to be a QB1 in most fantasy football formats. For the past few years, Manning has ranked among the top 10 fantasy football quarterbacks. This year, Manning is ranked as the ninth best fantasy football quarterback by ESPN.
The addition of what appears to be another rookie sensation in Sterling Shepard should only increase his fantasy stock. Shepard also frees up Beckham to do some more work and potentially draw less coverage. The return of Victor Cruz could also be interesting if he could finally get healthy enough. Manning currently has a plethora of receivers to work with and that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Former Dallas Cowboys’ star wide receiver, Michael Irvin, recently stated that the New York Giants’ wide receivers are “dangerous.” The sky is the limit for Manning this season.
Rashad Jennings
While Jennings may not be the ideal fantasy football player due to his injury history, he does produce when healthy. This theory held true in the New York Giants’ first preseason game. Jennings strolled into the end zone and scored a touchdown. The Giants’ slightly tweaked offense appeared to suit him quite well.
Jennings is not by any means an RB1 or even a low end RB2. He is simply a high upside flex play. Jennings has more upside this season since the Giants used him in the red zone instead of Paul Perkins or Andre Williams. This proves that Jennings will be part of their red zone schemes and it increases his fantasy value.
The New York Giants’ Defense
Believe it or not, the New York Giants’ defense could be one of the better fantasy football defenses in 2016. The unit looked especially sharp against the Miami Dolphins in their preseason opener. In what was a complete turnaround from last season, the Giants’ defense didn’t let the Dolphins’ offense get a first down for the entire first quarter. Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon pressured Ryan Tannehill quite nicely. The New York Giants’ secondary is loaded with talent that now includes veteran Leon Hall. Things appear to be looking bright in Steve Spagnuolo’s second season as defensive coordinator.
