Fantasy football implications of Daniel Jones decision

The Giants will sit Eli Manning in favor of Daniel Jones and that will have some fantasy football Implications.

Daniel Jones now being the starting quarterback in the Giants offense could mean a few different things for the unit, and for fantasy football players. It’s all speculation right now since we haven’t seen him start in the regular season just yet, but the Giants are expected to add some RPO (run-pass options) into the offense and the unit should have an entirely different feel to it. Jones threw with accuracy in the preseason and tossed a strong deep ball. The sixth-overall draft selection went 29/34 for 416 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and an 85% completion rate in preseason.

The first possibility is probably the most likely one from a fantasy football standpoint, which is that the offensive pieces around Jones stays the same for fantasy purposes – that’s probably the safest bet. Jones might be a better option than Eli Manning, but he’s probably not a guy people are rushing to add unless it’s a two-quarterback league. The offense hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with Eli Manning at the helm this season, so it’d be hard to envision them scoring less points with Jones, though – even if you think Eli is still the better option at this point.

Saquon Barkley has been excellent, despite limited usage, in the G-men’s first two contests. He’s second in the league in rushing yards, while sporting a beefy 7.6 yards per carry. If anything, expect to see Saquon featured more-heavily in the passing game, as (smart) young quarterbacks tend to rely on their runningback’s in the passing-game to get them out of trouble. That’s great news for Saquon owners, as the runningback has shown he is a threat to take any ball he gets to the house. Either way, figure him to stay where he was before the move – a top three fantasy football player.

Expect Evan Engram to remain in the same category he’s in now, as the tight end has done well for himself, and whatever he loses in Shepard and Tate coming back will likely be gained back from a better offense.

The second possibility is the Giants offense regresses – I think this is the least likely option for the Daniel Jones change. It’s possible though, because as we all know, sometimes rookie quarterbacks struggle. Jones might be without Sterling Shepard this week, and still won’t have Golden Tate return until two weeks from now. He’ll have to find a guy or two out of the plethora of back-end receivers the Giants have that he actually feels comfortable throwing to.

One area of concern from a fantasy (and normal) impact is that Jones has shown himself to be susceptible to fumbles at this point. We all know those ‘-2 point’ plays are a killer in fantasy, especially in games that come down to the wire. If they happen often, it’ll also likely be momentum killing for the offense, and this could be the eventual Achilles heel for Jones. Clearly, he could be prone to interceptions as most rookies are, and we’ll have to see how he does against real NFL defenses before we know if this comes to fruition. It’d be hard for this offense to average less than the twelve-points-per-game they are currently averaging, though.

The last possibility  is that the Giants offense improves under Jones. As previously stated, the offense really has no where to go up but from here, so this is a likely scenario. I don’t think anything Jones does will have much of a fantasy football implication on Saquon Barkley – Barkley was the first overall fantasy football pick for a reason. Jones however does add a run threat of his own which could help take some pressure off of Barkley, though.

The Giants will occasionally implement RPO’s and zone reads, which figures to help keep the defense more on their heels – something they haven’t been based on the lack of talent on the outside. Based on pre-season play, Jones seems much-more willing to drive the ball downfield, which could spell bigger opportunities for Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram. Golden Tate is more of a possession, and run-after-catch type of player, so going deep won’t have much of an effect on him.

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Overall no matter what happens with Jones I wouldn’t be looking to sell my Giants players. I wouldn’t worry about Jones hurting the value of any of these players –  if anything he may help it. In terms of if Jones should be owned in fantasy that is solely-dependent on the league. In a deep league you could make the case for him to be owned, but in shallower leagues he does not need to be owned at this point. In two-quarterback and dynasty leagues he is must own – I’d rank him before Dwayne Haskins and behind Murray in dynasty.

Jones has the chance to contribute right away, something we have seen from rookies more and more lately. Last year Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold and Josh Allen all had value in fantasy football – we’ll see in ‘Danny Dimes’ can have the same value.