In the 2020 Fantasy Football New York Giants preview, I will be going position by position, breaking down the fantasy value of each player for the upcoming season. First though, let's take a look at what the Giants did last season.
Before 2019, the Giants decided to part ways with their superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. by trading him to the Cleveland Browns and making it Saquon Barkley's team. Unfortunately, Barkley's large workload caught up to him in Week 3 when he suffered a high ankle sprain that sidelined him. This thrust Daniel Jones into the spotlight where he tried making the most out of a bad situation, as a result, he led the league in turnovers.
The team finished 4-12 thanks to injuries and starting a rookie quarterback. They were 19th in team offense according to pro-football-reference.com last year with 30 passing touchdowns and 11 rushing touchdowns. Despite the lack of team success, there were still players that could provide some fantasy value.
With Daniel Jones going into his sophomore season Giants fans are hoping he takes the next step instead of a sophomore slump. He has the weapons around him to help him to take the next leap, but will he be able to cut down on the turnovers? Our 2020 Rankings have him at 14 at the time of writing this. If he can't get it done then expect the team to fall back on Barkley.
2020 Fantasy Football New York Giants Preview
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Quarterbacks
- Daniel Jones
- Colt McCoy
Daniel Jones finished at QB24 on the year with 24 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns while racking up 279 rushing yards. Keep in mind that he only played in 13 games for the G-men, so there's plenty of room to improve those numbers.
The team chose OT Andrew Thomas out of Georgia with the 4th overall pick in the 2020 draft, so at least the team is trying to help give Jones more time in the pocket. Thanks to his athleticism even if the pocket breaks down can salvage some yards with his legs on the ground.
The ceiling of Jones is probably most like Josh Allen from the Buffalo Bills. If he can buckle down and focus on cutting down the turnovers there's no reason he can't finish in the QB12-QB15 range. The floor for him is probably around QB20 range just because of the talent around him.
Colt McCoy recently signed a one-year 2.25 million dollar deal to be the backup to Daniel Jones, so unless Jones has an injury throughout the year I don't expect much fantasy value out of him.
Running Backs
- Saquon Barkley
- Dion Lewis
Even though Saquon Barkley missed four weeks last year with a high ankle sprain he still finished at RB10. It's not bad to finish there considering the injury. However, he was a top-three pick in almost every draft format. Every person drafting him was hoping for a repeat of his rookie season and instead, he only finished with eight rushing touchdowns and 1,003 rushing yards.
The bright side is that he will always be heavily involved in the passing game corralling 438 yards and two touchdowns on 52 receptions last year. As long as he can stay healthy there's no reason he can't be RB1-RB3 making him worth a top draft pick. With the amount of volume Barkley sees in this offense it's a no brainer to take him early.
According to Fantasypros.com, his schedule is the 28th hardest to run against but we all know Barkley is something special. With a depleted offensive line he still finished a top ten running last year, so his schedule shouldn't scare you. We've seen how the newly hired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett ran his old offense in Dallas, he loves to feed the ball to his stars. Knowing that, I expect a big bounce-back season for this fantasy stud.
The signing of Dion Lewis is probably just to help ease the workload of Barkley if he wears down at any point in the season. With all these running backs asking for big money in free agency it would be smart to get the most out of Barkley before they have to decide his future. Because of that, I don't see Lewis having much value this season.
Wide Receivers
Believe it or not, out of the three guys above, the rookie, Darius Slayton had the most productive fantasy year. He started in nine games and played in 14 total games. Finishing the season with 48-740-8 line, he shocked everyone who picked him up off waivers.
Dubbed with the nickname "Big Play Slay" after averaging 15.4 yards per catch, and ripping off four touchdowns of 30 yards or more. Fantasypros.com has his ADP right around 100 so if you're looking for a potential breakout player in the middle rounds of your draft, this is your guy. If not, then he would make a solid back-up for bye-weeks.
Even after getting suspended for four games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Golden Tate finished as WR44. He managed to get six touchdowns in only 11 games, and 676 receiving yards. He did this with only 49 receptions from 85 targets.
Being in an offense with Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton there are certainly a lot of mouths to feed, but I expect Tate to get his. With another year to study the plays and create more chemistry with his new quarterback, he might just be another safety blanket for the young QB.
He will probably finish the season around the WR30 range if plays in every game this year. This makes him a decent WR3/Flex for your team if he falls to you. The Giants wanted to add a veteran piece to this offense to help Daniel Jones when the pocket collapses that can make key plays in critical points in the game and Tate is that guy.
With that in mind, he's probably going to be touchdown dependent this year unless he can break few tackles and break a big play. There are just too many people in this offense to trust anyone not named Barkley or Engram. However, if the injury bug strikes again he could see more usage.
Last but not least Sterling Shepard finished as WR49 mostly because he only played ten games due to concussions. He struggled to score fantasy points only catching three touchdowns and 576 yards on 57 receptions. In most mock drafts he's the second wide receiver from the Giants being taken after Slayton goes.
If Sterling can stay healthy for the whole year he has the talent to be another solid WR3/Flex play. If you can get him in the mid-to-late rounds he would be a great pick. The problem is just I don't see a lot of fantasy points coming from this receiving corps this year.
All in all, the guy I would most want from this corps would be Darius Slayton. I mean the nickname Big Play Slay speaks for itself.
Tight Ends
- Evan Engram
- Levine Toilolo
Evan Engram was riddled with injuries last year missing one game with a sprained MCL in his right knee. He also missed the last five games due to a Pedal foot sprain. With all those injuries Engram still finished at TE18 with 467 yards and three touchdowns on 44 receptions.
According to Fantasypros.com, he has the 6th easiest schedule for tight ends this year. That's always good to hear, but he's missed 14 games in his three years in the league. His talent combined with the strength of schedule gives him a TE4 ceiling. This puts him just outside the big three of fantasy tight ends(Kelce, Kittle, and Ertz).
Linebackers can't keep up with him, and secondary players are just too small on him. Not many teams have the right player to match up against him, and he's going to take advantage of that as long as he can stay healthy. He reminds me of Rob Gronkowski the most because of the lingering injuries. All the talent in the world but he just can't make it a full season. So, if you end up with Engram in your draft make sure to get a reliable back-up.
Levine Toilolo is probably not going to see the ball a whole lot this year unless Engram goes down. He only had a total of two receptions for ten receiving yards last year. Stay away from any tight end on this team not named Evan Engram.
Final Verdict
If you have a top-three pick in your draft you have a good chance to get Barkley in the first round. If not, you're going to have to wait until next year. Barkley lost his top spot at fantasy running back last year to Christian McCaffrey but has all the talent to take back his throne. Barring any injuries, Barkley is a lock-in for a top-three finish at running back.
Saquon Barkley had 20 runs of 15 or more yards – ranking 3rd in the league pic.twitter.com/wR7zU5SyLN
— PFF (@PFF) April 30, 2019
Other than Barkley, I think Evan Engram will be the only other consistent fantasy production on this team.
If your willing to risk it for the biscuit in the mid-rounds then the guy to get is Darius Slayton. He quickly built chemistry with Daniel Jones and showed the potential for a good one-two punch for the near future. Too risky for you? Then pick up either Tate or Shepard. It's still up in the air about who's the number one option is on this team. Good luck drafting!
Visit the F6P Fantasy Football page for more advice to get you prepared for the 2020 season.
| AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | Ravens | Texans | Broncos |
| Dolphins | Bengals | Colts | Chiefs |
| Jets | Browns | Jaguars | Chargers |
| Patriots | Steelers | Titans | Raiders |
| NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Bears | Falcons | Cardinals |
| Eagles | Lions | Panthers | Rams |
| Giants | Packers | Saints | 49ers |
| Washington | Vikings | Buccaneers | Seahawks |
