Over or Under? A look at some regular-season player performance odds and the realistic nature of each

The following are some over/under odds as released by BetOnline as they pertain to the Giants.

Daniel Jones' regular-season starts: 5.5

As long as the Giants are in the playoff hunt, Eli Manning will be the starter. And unless the Giants start out 0-5 or worse, the Giants should be in playoff contention well past Week 10 of the regular season.

While it wouldn’t be a stunning development for Jones to get a regular-season start, my guess is that won’t happen unless the Giants are either eliminated from the playoffs, have locked up a playoff berth or if Manning is injured.

Saquon Barkley’s total rushing yards: 1,250

Last year Barkley finished with 1,307 rushing yards, with most of those coming on his own doing. With an improved run-blocking offensive line in front of him, I like the over on this prop as the Giants need to have Barkley take control of the game and the time of possession if they’re to notch a few more wins.

Barkley’s Total receptions: 82.5

I’m going with the under on this prop, fully aware that this year’s over/under is less than the 91 catches Barkley had last year.

I think if tight end Evan Engram stays healthy, he and Sterling Shepard should get the lion’s share of the pass targets this year.

That’s not to say that Barkley won’t get his share of pass targets, but one must remember that a high number of Barkley’s receptions last year were of the check down variety.

This year, the hope is that an improved offensive line will fix if it can allow for the quarterback to set up and take some more throws down the field.

Barkley’s total receiving yards: 650

I’m going with the over on this one if the Giants split Barkley out wide more and target him on some more wheel routes, something they’ve shown going back to the spring.

I know I said that the under on his total receptions, but I really think this year the giants will optimize Barkley’s receiving talents more beyond the check-downs and little dump-offs he often saw last year.

Sterling Shepard’s regular-season receiving TDs: 4.5

I’d go with the over on this prop, especially with Golden Tate suspended for the first four games.

I think Shepard is going to see a lot of early-season snaps from the slot, where most of his 14 career touchdowns have come, and if this is indeed the case, Shepard could be in over territory by mid-year.

Evan Engram's total regular-season receiving yards: 750

If Engram stays healthy, the over is an easy bet. However, the Giants are still waiting for him to get through an entire year where an injury doesn’t cut into his playing time.

While it is tempting to go with the under here, the oddsmakers probably considered everything Engram did without Odell Beckham in the lineup last year in raising the bar.

What the oddsmakers don't appear to have taken into consideration is that the Giants, at least in the preseason, have been all about spreading the ball around in the passing game, rather than zeroing in on a specific receiver.

I’d play this one safe and go with the under, though I don’t think Engram’s final receiving total will be too far under the 750 yards picked for this prop.

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