The NY Giants lost Saquon Barkley on Sunday to a torn acl and many fantasy players now scramble to replace the likely #2 overall pick in most drafts.
When the NY Giants lost Saquon Barkley on Sunday the injury looked severe and after the game in looked like worst fears became a reality. Barkley has a torn ACLand his season is over. For many this can be a season ended in fantasy if they drafted Barkley in the top 3 picks.
For some they may have drafted strong and can overcome it.
For now the Giants have Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman on the roster and they have brought in veteran Devonta Freeman from free agency as well. Freeman had 656 yards rushing, 2 touchdowns and 59 catches, 410 yards and 4 touchdowns. Last year Wayne Gallman was the main contributor when Barkey went down. His best game was a 66 yard rushing, 55 yard receiving two touchdown game against the Redskins.
Besides that he had injuries of his own and was irrelevant, leaving his future with the NY Giants very mnuch up in the air.
The question for fantasy football players now becomes are any of these players worth rostering and will any of them be worth starting. Will the NY Giants give Lewis the lead and use Gallman as a backup? Will Freeman take over the lead or will they sign him to pair with Lewis?
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For now it appears Lewis will get most of the work in the meantime. In Sunday’s relief Lewis carried the ball 10 times for 20 yards and converted a 4th and goal touchdown. In the passing game he had 4 catches for 36 yards which could have been more if not for a drop. With the NY Giants signing Freeman it’s very likely that they plan to use him and make him the lead guy at some point.
Former #Falcons RB Devonta Freeman is expected to land with the #Giants, barring anything unforeseen, per @MikeGarafolo. Expect it to become official after he passes all the COVID-19 testing.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 22, 2020
Whether it’s Lewis, Freeman or Gallman don’t expect any of these guys to be league winners. It’s not a Marlon Mack to Jonathan Taylor situation. It’s not a situation like we could see if Mark Ingram were to get hurt and JK Dobbins took over. The Giants will likely struggle to run the ball. They have faced two tough defenses and things won’t get easier with the 49ers and Rams up next. It’s possible the team uses a running back by committee approach for the next few weeks.
It’s going to be tough to replace Saquon Barkley in fantasy football and the NY Giants backfield likely won’t be the answer. The injury to Barkey also hurts Daniel Jones in fantasy in a big way. Jones was expected to be a big sleeper this year and after two bad games he still can be but it won’t be easy without his best weapon.
Sunday was the first time Jones got to play with his full set of weapons and it didn’t last long. Barkley is gone for the year and Shepard also left with an injury. Now Jones will have a lot of weight on his shoulders. The Giants will hope the run game can help Jones in some way.
If the Giants bring in Freeman there’s no way to know how they will use him but it will be tough to imagine Lewis being an every down back. At the same time Freeman he will be new to the offense coming off an injury plagued year himself. Freeman has both red zone potential and pass catching ability. If you are prioritizing NY Giants running backs on waivers I would expect Freeman, Lewis and Gallman to be most valuable in that order going forward.
For this Sunday Lewis may be the best option just because Freeman will need time to adjust. They won’t replace Barkley but after a injury filled Sunday they are worth adds. Anything can happen with the NY Giants backfield especially if Freeman proves to be healthy.