It's been a while since the New York Giants took the field. The club will aim to pick up where they left off before their bye, beating the Houston Texans on the road in overtime. Fantasy football managers certainly hope so too.
The Giants' offense was pushing all the right buttons in the 27-21 win over the Texans. It was the unit's best outing by expected points added (EPA) per play since they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the 2026 opener. Things are finally stabilizing following franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart's season-ending knee injury, and J.J. McCarthy's insertion atop the depth chart has made all the difference.
Folks may not be plugging McCarthy into their lineups yet, but his elevation boosts the overall environment around him. Let's look at the signal-caller and New York's fantasy-relevant skill-position corps as they head into an NFC East showdown with the downtrodden Philadelphia Eagles. To keep the discourse aligned, all analysis and stats are based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring.
New York Giants fantasy football report, Week 9
QB J.J. McCarthy
As good as McCarthy was in his first start with the Giants, he produced just 10.2 fantasy points. It shows that real-life success isn't directly correlated with virtual games.
Can we expect McCarthy to leave empty-handed on a day New York musters 27 points? Probably not. He went without a touchdown, and that put a hard cap on his output.
Nevertheless, McCarthy's performance and comfort level in Big Blue's upset of the Texans is definitely encouraging. He has a chance to gain serious momentum in Philly. The Eagles have surrendered the sixth-most passing yards through Week 8 and rank 23rd in fantasy points allowed per dropback (0.52) to QBs.
Verdict: McCarthy is a mid-range QB2 with upside, best suited for 2QB/superflex formats.
RBs Cam Skattebo, Devin Singletary
Skattebo suffered a hamstring injury on the 42-yard run that set up the game-winning touchdown in Houston. Even with the extra time off, the issue is still bothering him, considering his consecutive missed practices coming out of the break. He's been labeled "day to day" by Giants head coach John Harbaugh, for what it's worth.
However, New York's backfield gets thin if Skattebo isn't ready for the upcoming clash with Philadelphia. Singletary is the next man up and would presumably step into a sizable role. The only other running back on the 53-man roster is Gregory Desrosiers, who was signed off the Los Angeles Chargers' practice squad on Oct. 28. Eric Gray, who spent the past three years with the Giants, was recently added as an emergency option.
Whether it's Skattebo or Singletary, or both, a positive game script should favor them. The Eagles have given up the most rushing attempts in the NFL through Week 8 (215).
Verdict: Singletary is a low-end RB2/FLEX if Skattebo sits, and they each get downgraded to RB3 status if both are active.
WR Malik Nabers
Nabers, October's NFC Offensive Player of the Month, will face Philadelphia All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. Two stars at the top of their position going toe-to-toe is must-watch television. On the other hand, their high-profile matchup isn't ideal for fantasy purposes.
As highlighted above, Philly's defense is becoming a pass funnel. They've actually been middle-of-the-pack against outside wide receivers, though, where nearly three-quarters of Nabers' routes come from. Mitchell playing almost exclusively on the perimeter is a large part of the distortion, among other factors.
Obviously, Nabers is a set-and-forget top-10 wideout whenever he suits up. Let's just keep Mitchell's presence in mind and remember that the Giants have other levers to pull.
Verdict: Nabers is in mid-range WR1 territory.
TE Isaiah Likely
As alluded to when discussing Nabers, the Eagles are incredibly generous to slot receivers, which is basically Likely's job for New York. The standout tight end has lined up inside on 81.4 percent of his routes this campaign.
There is proof of concept that attacking Philadelphia over the middle is the most advantageous way to move the ball. Only the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions have allowed more yards to slot WRs. The Washington Commanders are the lone team to concede more TDs in that alignment.
Likely has a golden opportunity to bounce back from a quiet contest in Houston in a big way. He should feast on Philadelphia's vulnerable linebacker and safety corps.
Verdict: Likely is a high-end TE1.
Note: Advanced metrics courtesy of Fantasy Points' data suite 2.0 ($).
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