Eli Manning
Has he finally earned your respect, fantasy owners?
Coming off two consecutive seasons of 4,000 passing yards, and two consecutive 10th place finishes in fantasy points among quarterbacks, fantasy owners were still reluctant to draft Eli Manning as a starting quarterback.
What may have scared off owners was the fact that Eli led the league in interceptions in 2010 with 25.
Well, all Eli did in 2011 was fall 67 yards shy of 5,000 (that's FIVE THOUSAND) for the season. He also added 29 touchdown passes, his second-highest total for his career, behind his 31 in 2010.
Oh, and he also won some game called the Super Bowl for the second time and won Super Bowl MVP for the second time.
So, coming into 2012, I would hope fantasy owners are now fully aware are what Eli can do. With most of his weapons back (WR Mario Manningham and TEs Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum are out, but in come TE Martellus Bennett and rookie WR Reuben Randle, who I will get to later), there is no reason Eli can't put up another spectacular fantasy season after finishing 6th last season.
Currently, Eli is the 7th QB off the board, almost immediately after Michael Vick in the middle of five. Eli is the No. 6 QB on my board, currently, so I certainly like him at that spot.
Ahmad Bradshaw
A foot injury cost Bradshaw 4 games last season, but he clearly showed he was the better running back option for the Giants, as Brandon Jacobs struggled to get things going when Bradshaw was out.Bradshaw rushed for 659 yards and nine touchdowns in 2010, although his yards per carry was just 3.9.
Bradshaw also seemed to cure his fumble problems from 2010, as he only lost one fumble in 2011, compared to seven fumbles (six lost) in 2010.
Despite all that, Bradshaw still finished as a top 20 fantasy RB, as he also added 267 receiving yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns.
Jacobs is in San Francisco now, so Bradshaw looks to remain the lead back in New York, despite the Giants' selection of Virginia Tech RB David Wilson in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Bradshaw's current ADP is around the end of Round 4, as the 16th RB off the board, which is right around where I have Bradshaw ranked. I'm not too worried about Wilson digging too much into Bradshaw's stock.
Hakeem Nicks
2010's breakout star did nothing in 2011 to say he was a one-hit wonder, catching 76 balls for 1,192 yards and seven touchdowns.
The only knock on Nicks is that he has yet to play a full 16-game season in his career. But he did play a career-high 15 games last season.
Unfortunately for Nicks, the injury big got him again, as he broke his foot during OTAs a few weeks ago. However, he should be back in time for the season opener against the Cowboys on September 5th.
Owners may be scared off from the injury and Nicks may fall through the cracks. He is currently the fourth receiver off the board with an ADP in the middle of the second round. I would draft as high as the late-1st, early-2nd. Don't let the injury scare you, Nicks should be just fine and continue his production.
Victor Cruz
From 2010's breakout star to 2011's breakout star, Victor Cruz salsa'd his way onto the fantasy scene in Week 3 against the Eagles with 110 yards and two touchdowns. He kept up his torrid pace and finished with 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns and was the No. 4 scoring WR in 2011, behind only Calvin Johnson, Jordy Nelson and Wes Welker.With Mario Manningham gone, and Reuben Randle possibly sliding in opposite Nicks, Cruz should continue to operate out of the slot, as well as opposite Nicks. Will he repeat 2011? Probably not. But for a third-round pick, he will certainly give you a productive season worthy of that high a pick. He is currently the 10th WR off the board and should compete again to be a top-10 WR.
Reuben Randle
A sleeper option at WR, Reuben Randle looks to be the favorite to be the third WR on 3-wide sets, and more importantly, will get even more 1st-team reps with Nicks expected to miss most, if not all, of training camp. I believe those reps will be very valuable to Randle, who the Giants stole at 63 overall in the NFL Draft, and will make Randle a very nice deep option. He is being drafted outside the top 50 WRs, but is well worth a late-round pick.Martellus Bennett
Bennett was scooped up by the Giants in free agency after both Beckum and Ballard went down with torn ACLs.A TE who was mostly used as a blocking TE in Dallas, Bennett is expected to be the main TE option for Eli Manning this season.
Bennett will get a chance to build a connection with Eli during camp, with Nicks out, but Bennett is more of a very deep TE option.
He is being drafted as the 22nd TE off the board. If you are in a 2-TE league, Bennett is worth a look. Other than that, he's backup status, for now.
There's a glance at the champs. Tomorrow, we take a look at the team the Giants defeated in the final regular season game to win the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys.
Until then, this is your boy, Bill Wild, signing off. So long, for now.
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