The Giants got themselves into a bit of a DJ Khaled situation here - they are struggling from success. After not picking up the fifth year option for Daniel Jones last year, they were poised to have a bridge year before letting guys like Jones, Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay etc. walk this off-season. Instead they came out and made the playoffs in Brian Daboll’s first year as a head coach and are now looking like a team that can compete right away with the right pieces. So, instead of a prolonged rebuild, they are trying to figure out how to keep their guys and retool in the short term. Again, they’ve got some problems, but some of them are good problems to have.

 


With this series, we are taking a look at each NFL team to gauge the direction of the offense from a dynasty fantasy football perspective. Is this team gearing up for a Super Bowl run? Are they in the midst of a rebuild? Are they considering blowing it up? We’ll take all of that into account as well as the current contracts, upcoming free agents, and 2023 NFL draft class to give you our best recommendations on how to handle these weapons in your dynasty fantasy football leagues.

Recommendations Key

BUY - Attempt to acquire this player at or slightly above market value

HOLD - The player is likely more valuable than the market indicates. Hold them if you have them or try to acquire them at a discount.

SELL - The perceived value for this player is higher than the projected remaining value in your average dynasty league. Cash out now.

SELL/DROP - Depending on the depth of the league, always try to sell guys before dropping. But this player is likely not worth the bench spot he’s occupying so you might need to just drop them.  

*Contract information is proved courtesy of Spotrac.com*

 

New York Giants Quarterback

Overview: 

The Giants have one quarterback under contract for 2023.

Tyrod Taylor - age 33

Contract: Tyrod Taylor is signed for this year. He can be released with $2.8 mil in dead cap for $4.1 mil in savings. He has a void year in 2024 so he would become an unrestricted free agent.

Outlook:  We know what Tyrod Taylor is at this stage - a reliable backup QB that is great with the scout team and can keep the team afloat for a couple games if he needs to step in.

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL/DROP - A guy like Taylor is a valuable real life roster piece but he’s not likely to have much fantasy relevance without injury to the starter. So you don’t need to hold him in dynasty.

FREE AGENTS: Daniel Jones

Free Agency/Draft Outlook:

We’ll talk about the fantasy impact of Daniel Jones in full in our free agent quarterback article but the rumors as of now are that he will be franchise tagged if he doesn’t sign a long term deal. The long term deal on the table is also rumored to be in the 4 year, $160 million dollar range which is less per year than the $45 million franchise tag. So the only question really is whether they are committing to Jones for the long term right now or doing another trial run under the tag.

 

New York Giants Running Backs

Overview: 

The Giants have one running back under contract and one signed to a reserves/future deal. 

Gary Brightwell - age 24

Contract: Gary Brightwell is under contract through 2024.

Outlook: Brightwell proved to be a serviceable backup whenever he got in the game, even popping for a 25 yard touchdown. He also contributes on special teams which will keep him on the roster. In fact, as of this moment, he’s the only RB on the roster.

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL - This is a Day 3 RB who runs a 4.67 forty yard dash. You’ve been given a golden opportunity to sell him for something in this brief, shining moment where he’s technically the RB1 on an NFL depth chart. You might not find someone who will fall for it, in which case you might as well hold to see how things shake out in free agency. But, odds are he will be droppable by the start of the season. He was technically third on the depth chart last year behind Saquon Barkley and Matt Breida.

FREE AGENTS: Saquon Barkley, Matt Breida

RESERVE/FUTURE: Jashaun Corbin

Free Agency/Draft Outlook:

Typically what happens when you change regimes in the NFL is the new front office lets the old contracts expire then they start bringing in their own guys. The Giants brought in GM Joel Schoen and coach Brian Daboll from the Bills last off-season so you’d expect a lot of turnover this year. I mean, they specifically didn’t pick up the fifth year option for Daniel Jones. But now you see them trying to figure out a way to keep Daniel Jones at QB and Saquon Barkley at RB with only one franchise tag. We’ll write more about Saquon in our free agent RB article since he’s technically not on the Giants right now but I would not be surprised to see them tag Barkley the moment they figure out a long term deal for Jones. If Barkley is gone, don’t be surprised to see a reunion between Daboll and old friend Devin Singletary either.

 

New York Giants Wide Receivers

Overview: 

The Giants have three wide receivers under contract for 2023 with one signed to reserve/future deals.

Wan’Dale Robinson - age 22

Contract: Wan’Dale Robinson was a second round pick in 2022 so he’s under contract on a rookie deal through 2023.

Outlook: Now that Kenny Golladay has been released, Robinson is actually the highest paid WR on the team, despite being on his rookie deal. Robinson represented a fairly “safe” draft selection by the Giants as he seems like a clear cut NFL caliber slot or flanker with the floor of contributing on special teams. Though, at 5’8” 185, he doesn’t have the size to play split end.

Dynasty Recommendation: HOLD - Robinson to me feels like a lock to increase value over the next year. He’s going to have a role as the flanker or slot in this offense. The long-term question is whether he ends up being a full time player like Chris Godwin or Cooper Kupp where he lines up in the slot for three WR sets then moves to flanker for two WR sets or if he ends up as a pure slot guy who comes out for three WR sets in favor of bigger options (think Tyler Boyd with Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase). For now I’m holding to see how it plays out - keep an eye on my Twitter @CoopAFiasco as I will let you guys know which way his role is trending and whether we will want to buy him or sell him moving forward. Right now we are holding or acquiring at or below market value if possible because he has a lot of traits we like, especially in the short yardage game. Daniel Jones last year tied for the lowest average depth of target on his passes of any QB that attempted at least 150 (which was 40 different players).

Collin Johnson - age 25

Contract: Johnson was claimed from the Jaguars so he has no guaranteed money tied to him. He can be released with $1 million in savings, no dead cap. He’s a free agent in 2024.

Outlook: The fact that Johnson returned at all after tearing his achilles is impressive but he also couldn’t really beat out a pretty weak group of pass catchers for playing time.

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL/HOLD - No one is buying and he doesn’t really need to be held. He’s likely to be a journeyman in this league without much upside. He’s not even a lock to make this roster considering he can be cut with zero dead cap.

Isaiah Hodgins - age 25

Contract: Hodgins is under contract for 2023. He can be kept on an exclusive rights free agent deal in 2024 which is the veteran minimum so he’d be easy for them to keep in 2024 as well.

Outlook: Hodgins came out of seemingly nowhere to earn a full time role in the Giants offense. And with that role he put together a number of fantasy relevant weeks. He only had one game with more than 50 yards but he scored in four of five games during a stretch.

Dynasty Recommendation: SELL - This is the exact kind of guy we look to sell in fantasy football. This was a new regime operating with a ghost ship roster before they build things THEIR way. At 6’4”, Hodgins operated as the split end but that’s a pretty all or nothing gig in the NFL as those guys don’t often translate well to the other roles or play special teams (it’s the reason a guy like DK Metcalf slid in the draft vs. someone that can return punts or kicks). In my opinion, Isaiah Hodgins is likely to have a Preston Williams or Travis Fulgham type trajectory where he gets vaporized during this rebuild. You should honestly be happy that you added a practice squad player that you can now sell for anything at all - that’s a huge win in itself.

RESERVE/FUTURE: Jaydon Mickens, David Sills, Makai Polk, Kalil Pimpleton

FREE AGENTS: Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, Richie James, Marcus Johnson, Darius Slayton

Free Agency/Draft Outlook:

Right now I view this team as having one long-term WR in Wan’Dale Robinson with Isaiah Hodgins having an outside shot of being the split end moving forward. As part of this rebuild, I’d look to bring in a big split end and another player that plays slot/flanker with the better of him or Robinson likely ending up as the target leader on this team. They’re going to need depth and they are also going to need someone that returns punts if they don’t bring back Richie James. So this team is in a prime position to add WRs via free agency or the draft - or both.

 

New York Giants Tight Ends

Overview: 

The Giants have one tight end under contract and two signed to a reserve/future contract.

Daniel Bellinger - age 22

Contract: Daniel Bellinger was drafted in 2022 so he’s under contract through 2025. 

Outlook: The usage for Daniel Bellinger was night and day before and after they got rid of Tanner Hudson. Here is a look at the numbers.

Dynasty Recommendation: BUY - This is the kind of guy whose value is poised to go up. He finished the season playing a huge snap share and running a ton of routes but the production didn’t pop so neither did his trade value. The team is starting a rebuild so there aren’t too many weapons for him to compete with just yet. He honestly could be fantasy relevant as soon as this season and no one is really super excited about him so I’d go and either add him off waivers if you can or toss a cheap offer at him - even if your plan is to buy low and sell high before the rebuild is complete. 

RESERVE/FUTURES: Lawrence Cager, Andre Miller

Free Agency/Draft Outlook:

They are going to need to fill this tight end room out somehow since they only have Daniel Bellinger right now. And, if you are a Daniel Bellinger fan like us, you want to see them add a primary blocking tight end and then another lesser tight end with some pass catching chops that plays special teams. That way Bellinger is the full time starter and, if he goes down, they supplement him by splitting time with the blocker and the pass catcher. This would fall in line with how Daboll used Dawson Knox in Buffalo. What we really want to avoid is them bringing in a guy who plays slot as a pass catcher like a Dan Arnold, Anthony Firkser, or Cameron Brate. Those guys can be just annoying enough to hurt production for the starter.

 


Follow Andrew Cooper on Twitter @CoopAFiasco for more NFL and fantasy football insights and stay tuned as we hit on all 32 NFL teams in this series leading into NFL free agency!

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