Giants Fantasy Football Preview: Can Daniel Jones help take the rest of the offense to Saquon Barkley's level?

Daniel Jones was a work in progress as a rookie, as expected, but the highs were extremely high — he had four games with at least four touchdowns. Consistency was obviously an issue, as was ball security, but Jones showed he's worth building around. Unfortunately, the Giants didn't add much around him, so you're relying on the health of Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram and Saquon Barkley for Jones to take a step forward.

2019 Review

Record: 4 - 12 (29)
PPG: 21.3 (19)
YPG: 338.5 (23)
Pass YPG: 233.2 (18)
Rush YPG: 105.3 (19)
PAPG: 37.9 (9)
RAPG: 22.6 (30)

2019 Fantasy finishes

QB: Daniel Jones QB23
RB: Saquon Barkley RB10
WR: Darius Slayton WR37, Golden Tate WR44, Sterling Shepard WR48
TE: Evan Engram TE18

Number to know: 18

We could also go with "18.3", because that was the percent of Giants drives that ended in a turnover. The 18 represents Jones' fumbles in 2019, the most ever for a player in 13 games. Jones also had 12 interceptions, so he was either intercepted or fumbled on 5.5% of his passes, sacks or rush attempts. That's only slightly lower than Jameis Winston's mark in 2019. Jones showed plenty of upside, and his rushing ability was an especially pleasant surprise for Fantasy. But if he can't take care of the ball better, it won't matter. The Giants can't give the ball away as often as they did in 2019 and hope to have any success.

2020 Offseason

Draft Picks

1. (4) Andrew Thomas, OT
2. (36) Xavier McKinney, S
3. (99) Matt Peart, OT
4. (110) Darnay Holmes, CB
5. (150) Shane Lemieux, G
6. (183) Cam Brown, LB
7. (218) Carter Coughlin, LB
7. (238) T.J. Brunson, LB
7. (247) Chris Williamson, CB
7. (255) Tae Crowder, LB

Additions

CB James Bradberry; LB Blake Martinez

Key Departures

N/A

Available Opportunity

10 carries, 2 RB targets, 90 WR targets, 30 TE targets

Rankings and Projections

Player	Jamey Eisenberg	Dave Richard	Heath Cummings
Daniel Jones	QB13	QB15	QB17
Saquon Barkley	RB2	RB3	RB2
Darius Slayton	WR44	WR35	WR55
Sterling Shepard	WR43	WR36	WR39
Golden Tate	WR55	N/A	WR45
Evan Engram	TE6	TE8	TE5
Giants DST	DST30	DST31	DST29

	Heath Cummings' projections
QB	Daniel Jones	3,819 YD, 25 TD, 14 INT; 359 Rush YD, 3 TD
RB	Saquon Barkley	1,526 YD, 11 TD; 55 REC, 445 YD, 3 TD
RB	Dion Lewis	107 YD, 1 TD; 19 REC, 126 YD, 1 TD
WR	Sterling Shepard	113 TAR, 75 REC, 820 YD, 5 TD
WR	Golden Tate	108 TAR, 67 REC, 827 YD, 5 TD
WR	Darius Slayton	75 TAR, 43 REC, 644 YD, 6 TD
TE	Evan Engram	108 TAR, 67 REC, 767 YD, 5 TD

Biggest Question

How will the targets be split?

"Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate and Evan Engram weren't all active for the same game once in 2019. That was a big reason rookie Darius Slayton was able to lead the team with 740 receiving yards and eight scores, and Slayton's emergence further complicates the target puzzle for 2020. Daniel Jones is in a great spot with a vast arsenal and a top five offensive tackle pick from the draft, but who will lead this team in targets is anyone's guess." - Ben Gretch

One sleeper, one breakout and one bust

Sleeper

Sterling Shepard WR

NYG N.Y. Giants • #3
Age: 31 • Experience: 8 yrs.

2019 Stats
REC 57	TAR 83	REYDS 576	TD 3	FPTS/G 14.1

The Giants aren't an easy team for picking sleepers, but it's not because they don't have any. On the contrary, it's pretty easy to argue they have at least three players who are obviously undervalued. Shepard is the pick here based on the role he filled in 2019, leading the wide receivers with 8.3 targets per game. That came in part thanks to all those games guys like Engram and Tate missed, but it still spoke to the confidence they have in him. He'll need to do more than the 6.9 yards per target he had in 2019, but given that he sported an 8.4 Y/T in 2017 and 2018, it seems like a fair bet. The Giants' plethora of options puts a cap on what any one player's ceiling can be, but given that Shepard is WR49 in ADP right now, he represents a great opportunity for a sneaky value.

Breakout

Evan Engram TE

JAC Jacksonville • #17
Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs.

2019 Stats
REC 44	TAR 68	REYDS 467	TD 3	FPTS/G 13.5

Of course, Engram might actually be the No. 1 receiver for the Giants. We've called him a breakout three years in a row now, and on a per-game basis, he was better than ever in 2019, pacing for 88 catches, 934 yards and six touchdowns. If he can see a similar role while getting back to the efficiency he showed in 2018, Engram still has the potential to be in that second tier of tight ends by season's end. And, while he has competition for targets, unlike Shepard, Tate, or Slayton, nobody is coming for his snaps. He'll be on the field as much as he can handle.

Bust

Darius Slayton WR

NYG N.Y. Giants • #86
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

2019 Stats
REC 48	TAR 83	REYDS 740	TD 8	FPTS/G 12.1

The Giants also are not easy to pick a bust, but not because they have multiple good options as with the sleeper category. No, in this case, it's because this is one of the cheapest offenses in the league for Fantasy. Barkley will go No. 2 in most leagues, but they might not have another player inside the top 75. Slayton is the pick here simply because he is the most expensive of the three wide receivers. His age may ultimately make him the priority for the building Giants, but there's just too much competition for targets to think he'll see a big increase in production, especially because he's the likeliest option to be the deep threat here. That could lead to plenty of big plays, but it will make his production frustratingly hard to predict.