From coaching staff to future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, no one was safe in the Giants’ facilities following another tumultuous season. After finishing with a top-six draft pick for the third time in as many years, the Giants cleaned house. Eli Manning officially retired after losing his job to 2019 first round pick Daniel Jones. Several coaches were removed from their duties as well, including Pat Shurmur. With the removal of Shurmur, the Giants’ ownership turned to yet another unproven commodity with the announcement that Joe Judge would be taking over. Judge, a member of both the Nick Saban and Bill Belichick coaching trees, lacks coaching experience at any level. Despite the lack of knowledge, Judge and company went to work quickly revamping the coaching room by bringing in Jason Garrett to head the offense for the G-Men. Although Garrett is known more for his clapping on the sidelines regardless of the situation than he is for putting a winning product on the field, he did lead the Cowboys to eight top-15 finishes in PFF Offensive Ranking and five top-10 finishes.
Offseason Moves
Despite the severe movement for the Giants at the top, it was the players that didn’t see much change. We already discussed the loss of Eli Manning, who hung up his cleats after 16 years in the NFL. However, the Giants didn’t make a ton of significant player moves otherwise. The Giants re-signed three of their unrestricted free agents. They also franchise tagged Leonard Williams, who they traded for mid-way through the 2019 season. In terms of bringing in new players, the Giants focused a good portion of their salary cap on the defensive side of the ball in James Bradberry and Blake Martinez. They also signed former Cowboys back up offensive tackle Cameron Fleming. Although it was a less-than-splashy free agency, the Giants seemed to have hit on the draft again. Selections of Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart in the 1st and 3rd rounds bolster an offensive line unit that was 17th in pass-blocking and 22nd in run-blocking a year ago. They also added Xavier McKinney to their secondary and added a few other defensive pieces that have assumed upside.
All in all, the Giants offseason was exciting for both fans of the organization and fantasy players. Question marks remain as to whether Judge can produce as a head coach in the NFL, but with the injection of youth on both sides of the ball, the Giants could be on the precipice of something great. Let’s take a look at how the individual players stack up for the Giants in 2020.
Quarterback
Daniel Jones
With basically an entire year under his belt, Daniel Jones is in a perfect position to succeed at a high mark in his sophomore season, despite the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on training camps. With a serviceable offensive line, a top-three running back, and receiver weapons with plenty of upside, Jones has the surrounding talent. Daniel Jones would finished as the 20th-best fantasy QB in 2019 despite only playing 13 games. He ended the season with over 3,000 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions. If Jones takes the turn in his career and continues to progress on a decent rookie season, the first thing he will need to improve is protecting the ball. In 2019, Jones had 18 fumbles to add to his 12 interceptions. He was sacked 40 times, which certainly didn’t help things either. Jones had the 11th-best completion percentage in the NFL when being hit: 38.9%. He did this taking this seventh-most hits in the league. Jones dealt with many injuries to the weapons around him. Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, and Saquon Barkley all missed significant time. As camp is kicking off, each of these players are expected to be healthy and should give Jones an even more significant boost heading into 2020. In contrast, Jones will have a bit of an uphill battle facing one of the league’s toughest schedules. To kick things off, Jones will face five top-10 defenses (according to PFF’s defensive rating) in their first five games. The second half of the season isn’t any better, with two games against tough divisional matchup Philadelphia, then improved Buccaneers and Cardinals defenses, plus the Seahawks on the road.
Colt McCoy
There isn’t much to say about Colt McCoy that’s going to get fantasy players excited about the prospect of stashing him. The former Texas Longhorn signal-caller has been more serviceable as a backup than he ever was as a starter early on his career. Over the last four years, McCoy has garnered a 68% completion percentage on 220 throws. Again, that’s not a number that’s going to jump off the page, especially when he only has eight TDs and six INTs during that span. However, it proves the nine-year vet can produce in spurts if called upon. The 2020 Giants would be the most talented team he’s had around him since entering the league. I’m confident in New York skill position players if Colt has to take over the huddle.
Running Back
Saquon Barkley
Barkley is a generational talent that is on an elite trajectory if he can outlast injuries. With a player that runs as downhill as he does and is certainly not afraid of contact, Barkley is bound to run into some issues. That was evident in 2019 when the second-year player went down during the team’s Week 3 contest against Tampa Bay. Barkley would miss the next three weeks, but would return and needed another six weeks to be himself again. Despite missing the time and taking a bit more to get back to normal, Barkley still finished as RB10. Although this wasn’t the craziest of drop-offs, it again made Barkley owners stuck in the mud. According to this ESPN article, Barkley wasn’t even the top 38 players to be drafted on ESPN fantasy playoff teams. To put some context into that, McCaffery was found on a staggering 78.1% of playoff teams.
Meanwhile, undrafted players like Darren Waller were on more than 60% of playoff teams. During Weeks 14, 15, & 16, Barkley silenced some of the doubters by putting on an absolute clinic. Over that span, Barkley would finish as the RB2 behind only McCaffery. And if not for nearly 30 more receptions by the Stanford stud CMC, Barkley would have surpassed even him. With all that said, Saquon was still the leagues 11th-best receiving running back with 52 receptions. Although his breakaway speed had diminished some due to injury, he even finished 14th with nine runs over 15 yards and finished 7th in yards created per touch. Barkley is now healthy, and thus back to being the RB2 in ADP. With a bolstered offensive line and a new offensive scheme that leans heavily on the run, nothing should stop Barkley from meeting or exceeding his ADP value (other than, of course, another injury).
Saquon Barkley out here winning fantasy championships (via @giants) pic.twitter.com/Nu92B90ui7
— 12up (@12upSport) December 22, 2019
Running Backs NOT named Saquon
You could put some of these guys into their own category as we have with every other player during our offseason breakdowns. However, Dion Lewis, Wayne Gallman, and Jonathan Hillman are simply here to spell Barkley on occasion. We know Jason Garrett has managed his halfback workloads to focus on a workhorse. From Marion Barber to DeMarco Murray and Zeke, the touches have for the most part been pretty straight forward for a Garrett offense. The only way any of these guys get sustainable touches will be if Barkley goes down. Each of them offers a specific skill set that will give fantasy players hope of some production. If we had to pick one of these guys that could produce, Lewis is a threat in the passing game. Lewis didn’t put up all-worldly numbers up in 2019, but he’s just one year removed from 59 receptions for 400 yards and a score. If the Giants use him the way the Patriots did a couple of years ago (Enter Joe Judge connection), he could get valuable looks in 2020.
Wide Receiver
Golden Tate
Golden Tate missed five weeks in 2019 (suspension Weeks 1-4, concussion Week 13) and came in 2nd on the team in catches, yards, and touchdowns, which gives us plenty of hope heading into 2020. There’s a lot to like about the limited time we saw Tate on the field. For instance, Tate received the 34th-most deep targets in the league at 17. He only caught seven of those passes, four for touchdowns (good for 3rd most.) He was also a significant presence in the red zone, with the 22nd-most receptions inside the 20-yard line. With a playerprofiler.com speed score of only 101.5 (73rd) and burst score of 119.5 burst score (41st), Tate isn’t known for being a burner.
Nonetheless, he showed the ability to stretch the field and be a consistent, reliable piece close to the end zone. Despite the mix of numbers both in the short game and the deep game, the one knock on Tate was his inability to create space on routes run. Tate ranked 102nd in the NFL in target cushion with only 1.09 yards. In 10 NFL seasons, Tate has had at least five touchdowns seven times and gained 1,000+ yards in three of four years from 2014-2017. Tate is healthy, isn’t in jeopardy of a suspension, and has another year to get comfortable with Jones. If he can play 15 games, he should be the leading fantasy scorer of the Giants receivers.
Sterling Shepard
For me, Sterling Shepard is a wild card. As a die hard OU fan, I’ve been watching Shepard tear up defenses for years. 2019 was no different for the former Sooner who, despite only playing ten games last year, was one of the Giants’ best receivers. Like Tate, Shepard produced on a shortened season, catching more passes than any other Giant (57), gaining 576 yards and three touchdowns. Although he’s had a relatively average career so far, he’s been consistent with at least 57 receptions in each of his four years. Shepard has also caught at least three scores three times, with last years 576 yards being the first time with less than 730 yards in a season.
Throughout Shepard’s career, he was always the second read with Odell Beckham Jr. being the go-to guy in the offense. Last year was the first time we expected Shepard to take on a more profound role, and he was on pace before losing significant time due to a concussion. So much so that his career was in jeopardy at times due to the severity of the concussions received. Thankfully for Shepard, that was not the case, and the four-year veteran was able to return to the field and produce at an above-average level. Shepard’s versatility to play both outside and inside at the slot makes him one of the more intriguing players in this offense. Obviously, like Tate, Shepard has a significant opportunity to be the team’s top fantasy scorer. If he can stay healthy and continue to be considered the first read or as the security blanket for Daniel Jones, he should keep the level of consistency that has made him serviceable.
Darius Slayton
Darius Slayton has been in the middle of a significantly large game of twitter tug-O-war. With many touters of Slayton expecting him to be the sleeper in this offense and others significantly lower, there are very few people in the middle. You either love him or hate him. In 2019, Slayton had an excellent opportunity due to severe injuries that left Tate, Shepard, and Evan Engram on the shelf. The Barkley injury forced the Giants to play from behind often and gave Slayton even more opportunity in the passing game.
Slayton had eight touchdowns in 2019, of which six of them were for more than 20 yards on the play. Slayton scored 78.3 PPR fantasy points on those eight receptions and had less than 100 fantasy points on the remaining 40 receptions. Some additional telling stats include his 79.4% route participation (42nd), which proves the Giants felt some type of way even with all of the injuries around him. Slayton’s production almost directly came from his ability to stretch the field, ranking 19th in the league in targets over 20 yards. However, in the red zone, Slayton only received three targets, good for 73rd in the NFL. Slayton’s prospects towards the end of the season began to grow, but quickly diminished as receivers mentioned above returned to the field. With what can only be predicted as too many mouths to feed in an already sub-par offense, Slayton could disappoint heavily in 2020.
Tight End
Evan Engram
Evan Engram remains underrated. I will never quit him pic.twitter.com/j3OfvVqTby
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) May 3, 2020
To truly grasp the nature of Evan Engram, one must first read our own Adam Hutchinson’s outlook on his injuries. Since 2017, Engram has been injured six times ranging from normal wear and tear of the NFL to deeper, more severe issues. In 2019, two reasonably major injures hit Engram: an MCL Sprain & a Lisfranc injury. According to Adam’s article above, both injuries range from yellow to red on the severity scale, with the Lisfranc being the most significant of the two. There is no doubting the talent that Engram brings to the field. Pair that with the opportunity he’s had with Eli Manning and Daniel Jones early in his career, he is pegged as a consensus top-4 NFL tight end. However, despite the hype, the talent, and the opportunity, Engram has finished inside the top 10 just once (2017).
2019 was very much a roller-coaster season for Engram and those who rostered him in fantasy leagues. Engram was 15th in total fantasy points – according to PFF.com – although he played only eight games last year. He had the 14th most targets, 13th most receptions, and was tied for the 6th most TDs by a tight end last year, all while playing only half the season. In the games that Engram showed up on the field, he nearly dominated. The former Ole Miss tight end had five games with at least six receptions, including 11 in Week 1 vs. Dallas. He had at least 100 yards twice, at least 40 yards seven times, and had five games with at least a 60.0 PFF offensive grade. The hype is real. Engram has the talent to play outside or in the slot as a wideout. He can line up with the hogs in the trenches with a 67.2 PFF pass-blocking rating. There’s no denying his ability when on the field, but can he stay on the field? At his current price tag of 76.8, (according to FFPC ADP) there are plenty of tight ends I’d feel more comfortable with rostering in 2020.
Kaden Smith
Kaden Smith surprised a lot of people last year picking up where Engram left off. Smith was essentially undrafted in 2019 fantasy drafts, much like he is this year as well. However, when called upon, Smith performed at a pretty decent level. The former Stanford Cardinal secured 31 receptions on 41 targets in 2019, adding 268 yards and three touchdowns. Despite getting fewer opportunities throughout more games than Evan Engram, he ran the 7th-most routes of all tight ends in the NFL. He also had the 11th-most target share of 16.7% in the NFL at his position, showing that he has a role on this team. With Engram potentially healthy in 2020, Smith will most likely return to his previous role. But with four games with at least five receptions and over 35 yards receiving, Smith is a free flier that could pay off at his current price tag.
Questions? Concerns? You can follow Justin and reach out to discuss the NFC East and more at his Twitter, @JMann_FF.
