2015 Review
The end of the Tom Coughlin era came with a whimper last season, as the New York Giants missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. More than anything, it was the defense that let this team down. New York allowed the third-most points and second-most yards in the NFL last season.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Giants were vastly improved. Eli Manning put up the best statistical season of his career. Meanwhile, Odell Beckham Jr built off what was a stellar rookie season. Here's a look at the 2016 New York Giants from a fantasy perspective.
Quarterbacks: Eli Manning
Manning is now coming off two of his best statistical seasons. Last year saw him put up 4,432 passing yards with 35 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions. That was good enough for Manning to rank 10th among quarterbacks in fantasy points.
That seems to be Manning's floor heading into the 2016 campaign. Not only is he going to be in his second full season in Ben McAdoo's system, he's going to be lifted up by a tremendous supporting cast. Victor Cruz returns after missing the past year and a half with a multitude of injuries.
Meanwhile, the Giants return a receiver in Odell Beckham Jr who is the best young player at his position. Add in the selection of former Oklahoma standout Sterling Shepard in the second round of the draft, and the ceiling is limitless for the Giants' passing game in 2016.
With an ADP that has him as the 10th quarterback off the board, there's no reason to believe Manning won't be able to best what the experts believe he'll accomplish this season.
Running Backs: Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Paul Perkins
While the Giants' passing game should be dominating this season, their rushing attack has more questions than answers. Jennings was the team's top back last season, putting up 863 rushing yards and nearly 1,200 total yards. Even then, he attempted less than 200 rushes and finished as a bottom-rung RB2 option in 12-team leagues.
Now that the Giants selected Paul Perkins in the fifth round of this spring's draft, it's going to be interesting to see if Jennings even matches his 195-carry output from a season ago.
That's the biggest question here. Are any of the backs in New York prepared to shoulder the load? If not, is the team going to go with a committee approach? As it stands, the questions here leave a lot to be desires from a fantasy standpoint.
Wide Receivers: Odell Beckham Jr, Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard
What OBJ has done in his first two seasons is nothing short of absurd. Here's a guy that's tallied 187 receptions for 2,755 yards and 25 scores in two years. Heck, Beckham Jr. has finished among the top-five fantasy receivers each year.
It's also important to note OBJ saw his targets increase from 130 as a rookie to 158 last season. The reasonable expectation here has to be that he will see an increase to 180-plus targets in 2016. If that's the case, the third-year receiver is surely worth his value as the second receiver off the board based on ADP.
The rest of New York's receiver situation is questionable. Cruz has missed the past season and a half to injury. While he's on the path to playing Week 1, there's no telling how he's going to perform. Thus far this summer, there's been a ton of concern over Cruz's ability to regin the athleticism he boasted prior to that devastating knee injury he suffered back in 2014.
Though, Shepard is the one to really watch out for. He's been dazzling onlookers during training camp and the preseason. If Cruz is unable to return to earlier form, Shepard could potentially take over as the team's starting slot receiver. If so, he's going to be relevant from a fantasy perspective.
Tight Ends: Larry Donnell, Will Tye
There's not a whole lot to see here. Donnell was a fantasy relevant tight end back in 2014 when he recorded 63 receptions and six touchdowns. Though, that seems more like a fluke than anything else. The former undrafted free agent put up just 29 receptions in eight games prior to suffering a season-ending injury last year.
Donnell was then replaced in the lineup by Tye, who put up 42 catches in 13 games (seven starts). With the weapons New York has at wide receiver and the ability of its running backs in the passing game, there's no real reason to believe these two tight ends will be fantasy relevant.