New York Giants 2020 Fantasy Football Forecast
The NFL season is fast approaching, which means Fantasy Football, the game within the sport, is also upon us.
I’ve been a passionate fantasy football addict for my entire adult life, so if you're like me and you're looking for some guidance regarding which Giants players are likely to fly off fantasy football draft boards and which ones represent great value, I've put his article together to offer a guide as to the projected impact Giants payers can have on YOUR fantasy football squad.
But first, let me go over the acronym ADP (Average Draft Position). ADP is where the discussed player is typically being drafted; this information is collected as an aggregate of many drafts on a specific platform.
In this article, we will be discussing Yahoo’s (found on FantasyPros) ADP of Giants’ players in half-point PPR leagues (leagues where players receive half a point for every reception).
Let's dive in and look at the Giants ADP and how each skill position player can help your fantasy football team this year.
Saquon Barkley: ADP - 2nd Pick
That is correct. Behind Carolina's Christian McCaffery, Barkley is second in ADP in half-point PPR leagues. In standard leagues (leagues that don’t reward any additional points for receptions), Barkley trails Ezekiel Elliott, mainly due to Barkley commanding more targets than Elliot in three fewer games. (Fantasy football is all about opportunity, after all.)
Barkley played behind a dismal offensive line that has been upgraded with the addition of Cameron Fleming and three draft selections, and he now has Elliott’s old head coach Jason Garrett. Barkley also possesses an astounding amount of athletic ability; he is primed for a bounce-back season after a sophomore slump and a lingering high ankle injury.
In half-point PPR leagues, Barkley is a solid second overall pick. Arguments can be made for Elliot, who seems to be safer, and Alvin Kamara, who hasn’t had less than 90 targets in any season (for reference, that ranked fourth in the league for running backs and Kamara missed two games and played through injuries).
If you’re picking outside of the top 4, you probably won't have a realistic shot at Saquon Barkley. I’m a big proponent for selecting running backs early in fantasy drafts. If you do land Barkley at 1.02 (in a 12 team league), and you can’t get Kenyan Drake, Austin Ekler, or Joe Mixon at 2.10, then I’d suggest possibly locking up tight end Travis Kelce or George Kittle.
Possibly you can get James Conner at 3.02, who is primed for a bounce-back season as well. There’s plenty of depth at wide receiver this season, so get running backs and build a strong, foundational team while receiving value in terms of certain players' ADP.
Evan Engram: ADP - 78th Pick
The fantasy community has been waiting and waiting and waiting for the Evan Engram breakout party to commence. Injuries have hindered this shindig from taking place, but I think, in Jason Garrett’s offense, this may be the year.
Engram played in eight games last year recording 44 catches (65 targets) for 467 yards and three touchdowns, which is not overly impressive. A new offense is now in place ridden into New York, and I feel Evan Engram, if healthy, can finally be maximized in a more vertical based fashion.
Engram’s ADot (Average depth of target) is 6.46 yards; for reference, Mark Andrews, the Ravens tight end is at 11.14 yards, and Jared Cook was 11.44 yards.
Engram was a product of Shurmur’s offense, and it didn’t use Engram anywhere except in the short passing game. Engram is entirely too dynamic for this ill-advised employment of his skill set (hopefully Noah Fant is used in a better fashion).
Blake Jarwin, Dallas’ athletic tight end, last season had an ADot of 10.05 yards on 31 catches (43 targets). Now healthy, and over the foot injury, Engram will look to be utilized in a more advantageous way downfield and in the red zone. If you fail to get Kelce or Kittle early, Engram is an excellent addition later in drafts.
Daniel Jones: ADP - 99th Pick
I believe in Daniel Jones, but I’m going to keep this short and simple: If you’re in a one quarterback league, DO NOT OVER-DRAFT QUARTERBACKS! There’s so much talent at quarterback in one QB leagues, and the position can be successfully streamed. Collect talent for your roster and then wait on a quarterback, unless the value of Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes becomes too enticing (fourth round/backend third).
As for Jones, he’s moving to a more vertical based offense with a very young team and offensive line. It’s his third offense in as many years. I like his playmakers and feel like game script will be on his side, for the Giants defense should struggle, resulting in either shootouts or a lot more passing attempts through the 4th quarter, which could also lead to garbage points.
I look around some at some of the other players being selected near 99 (this specific ranking is on football calculator). I think there’s no shot I’m taking Jones over quality backup running backs like Alexander Mattison, who could be a top 10 back if Dalvin Cook suffers an injury; and I won’t take Jones over James White or Matt Brieda either.
I like Jones’ future, but I’m conservative with my quarterbacks, and the truncated offseason, with all the change, gives me some uncertainty about Jones.
Darius Slayton: ADP - 101
To piggyback off what you just read, I would rather have Slayton's value than selecting Jones as my number one quarterback. Slayton has true breakout potential written all over him. He’s a solid WR3 starter in three-wide receiver leagues, but hopefully, his variance improves in his second season.
There were games where he was hyper-efficient catching multiple touchdowns, but only receiving the ball a few times. He did finish the year with 80 receptions, despite not playing early in the season, and he recorded 48 catches and eight touchdowns. These are impressive numbers for a rookie. I also feel he’ll be utilized downfield more often, even though he did so quite a bit in his rookie campaign; his ADot last year was 14.35 yards, which ranked in the top 30.
He seems to have the trust of Daniel Jones, and he did well against man coverage. I feel he is in a position to succeed in this offense, and he’s being acquired in the mid-late rounds. He’s an excellent late-round addition that could pay dividends for your fantasy roster.
Sterling Shepard: ADP - 132
According to Yahoo’s half-point PPR format, Shepard isn’t receiving much love. My biggest gripe with the great route running wide receiver is his inability to stay healthy. He played in 10 games last year, had 83 targets (57 catches) for 576 yards, and three touchdowns, but his presence on the field isn’t reliable.
Sterling Shepard
Giants.com
The old regime trusted Shepard in the red zone, which is the money zone in fantasy football. Last year, Shepard had seven endzone targets and 12 red-zone targets. He’s not a game-breaking athlete, nor does he possess ideal size, but he’s a good route runner with solid hands. I think he’s a solid dart throw addition, in leagues with deep benches, towards the end of fantasy drafts, but not someone you want to rely on just yet.
Golden Tate: ADP - 148
Tate was a security blanket for Daniel Jones in his rookie season. He had 81 targets, 49 catches, and 30 of them went for first downs, and he also added six touchdowns on the year. Jones trusts the veteran leader, and Tate is always capable of making players miss after the catch.
Golden Tate
Giants.com
He’s not the fantasy receiving option that he used to be with Matt Stafford, but I feel he can be drafted in deep leagues. He’ll be matchup dependent, and he was used mostly in the slot with Pat Shurmur, which moved Shepard outside.
Randall Cobb spent the last season in the slot on Jason Garrett’s Cowboys team and had 829 yards on 55 catches and nine touchdowns, so maybe there’s some intrigue there, even though Kellen Moore is not in New York. If Tate gets drafted, it shouldn’t be until the late rounds.
