NY Giants fantasy football projections: Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, more
By James Doino
The NY Giants, with Kenny Golladay, Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones, and Evan Engram on one roster could be a fantasy football goldmine in 2021
The allure of it all — Winning in fantasy football with players from your favorite squad, that could be the reality for the NY Giants and their fans in 2021.
We all have “our guys” when draft night comes around that we target. Your sleeper. Your dual threat QB. Your 14th round stash that will no doubt become a RB1 if just given the opportunity.
All fantasy football league owners encounter those gut-wrenching decisions come draft night.
And there really is no right or wrong when making these decisions in the moment. Some end up being glorious league winning moves. Others can end up derailing your entire season. We have all been on both ends of that spectrum. So what do we do?
Do we trust the numbers? The hours of research? The metrics? The opinions of “the experts” that have poured time and energy into their tiers and preseason rankings? Do we favor the rankings when push comes to shove? Or do we side with our gut?
The old Head vs Heart debate…
“The longest journey you will ever take is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.”
Andrew Bennett
In this article I will play to role of the torn “heart” trying to decide on if and where we should be targeting the top three fantasy football options for our Giants, Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay and Daniel Jones. While everyone’s favorite Fantasy Football expert, Evan Silva, creator of EstablishTheRun.com, will provide sanity as the “brains“ of the operation.
Big thanks to Evan by the way.
Silva was in the middle of a road trip while we played phone tag over three days. He went above and beyond to help out this newbie. Greatly appreciated.
If you have not checked out Evan, Adam Levitan and the rest of the team at Establish The Run, you need to. The fantasy insight and interaction is second to none. They are truly the best in the game today.
Should you trust your head, or your heart when it comes to the NY Giants this fantasy football season?
Kenny Golladay: 6th Rd, WR 17 overall
Golladay was the prize of the off season for Dave Gettleman and the NY Giants.
Did they overpay while bidding against themselves?
Sure.
But, they also added a much needed piece to an offense in desperate need of playmakers.
Golladay’s size and his ability to make contested catches down field are going to go a long way in determining if Daniel Jones is the answer at quarterback for the Giants long term. I fully expect Jones to target Golladay early and all season long. The two have already been seen working out together in an attempt to create some chemistry before camp starts. #HighHopes
Four piece nugget for ya per @Michael_Fabiano, providing a ray of sunshine through the storm cloud that is Jason Garrett…
"“During his time with the Cowboys, Garrett saw a combined 13 top-24 finishes among wide receivers. Six of those were top-10s, including Terrell Owens (1), Dez Bryant (3), Miles Austin (1), and Amari Cooper (1). The best fantasy finish among Giants wideouts last season was Sterling Shepard (WR43), but that should improve dramatically with the addition of Golladay. Still, he shouldn’t be seen as more than a WR2/WR3 in drafts”"
The Heart: It’s De Ja Blue all over.
The year was 2005 and the Giants young quarterback, Eli Manning, needed a playmaker. After a unique courtship that included agent Drew Rosenhaus walking away from negotiations with the team a week earlier, the Giants signed Plaxico Burress to a six-year, 25 million dollar contract in March of 2005.
That season Burress was targeted an obscene 166 times leading to 76 catches, 1,214 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Over three plus seasons Burress was a target monster as Manning’s Alpha Wide Receiver.
in 55 games as the Giants No. 1 option in the passing game, Burress was targeted 489 times. He caught 244 passes for 3,681 and added 33 touchdowns over that time.
The NY Giants brought in Golladay for a reason and spent a lot of loot in doing so. The return on that investment has to come early and often for the Giants.
I expect Golladay to be a target vulture this season for Jones and the Giants, providing a similar stat line to Plaxico in 2005.
80 catches. 1100 to 1200 yards and flirt with double digit TDs.
I’m targeting Golladay in the middle to late fifth and early sixth-rounds of drafts.
From The Brain of Evan Silva:
“So the history of wide receivers changing teams and then going on to produce at their previous levels is not great. They tend to have some regression from their old teams, they are adjusting to a new offense, to a new quarterback, new system, new teammates and Kenny Golladay is also is recovering from a pretty significant hip injury. So, although I love his talent and the potential that he brings to the Giants offense especially of the vertical receiver and a big upgrade from Darius Slayton and a guy that when he was in the offense and healthy in Detroit’s offense he elevated his teammates and you can see a trickle down effect that he will have on his teammates and he can have the same impact in New York. Darius Slayton, I think, will be better for palying with Kenny Golladay. You get to mave Sterling Sheperd into the slot, where I think he is best suited. So, I think it’s going to end up being an addition that is good for the Giants from a team persepective, but I think he is going to be pretty inconsistent from a fantasy perspective.”
Evan added that he is targeting Golladay around the 6th or 7th round of fantasy football drafts this season.