NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
It’s time to look ahead to the 2023 NFL season! Follow along with all our fantasy football team offseason roundups here.
It’s been a very busy NFL offseason, with free agent signings, coaching changes and several new players entering the league via the NFL Draft. As we prepare for the 2023 fantasy football season, it’s critical to have a full understanding of each team’s offseason moves. Our NFL team roundup series today covers the New York Giants.
2023 NFL Team Roundup: New York Giants
2022 Results
Record: 9-7-1, 3rd in the NFC East
Season End: Lost 38-7 at the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round
New York Giants Offseason Summary
Draft
1.24: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
2.57: John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota
3.73: Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee
5.172: Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma
6.209: Tre Hawkins, CB, Old Dominion
7.243: Jordon Riley, DT, Oregon
7.254: Gervarrius Owens, S, Houston
Deonte Banks, CB (1.24)
A lack of salary cap space forced the Giants to release James Bradberry last offseason, and the veteran made his former team lament that decision with an average of 4.4 yards per target that was top five among regular corners and second-team All-Pro honors. Round 1 rookie Deonte Banks cannot hope to match that standard in 2023. But the Maryland product has ideal size for an outside corner at 6-foot-0 and 197 pounds and has the 4.35-second speed to play both off and press coverage.
John Michael Schmitz, C (2.57)
The Giants made a leap from 30th to seventh in rushing DVOA in head coach Brian Daboll’s first season the team. And they aim to further increase that ceiling with Schmitz, a perceived scheme-agnostic, run-blocking center. The rookie should start from Day 1 after the Giants let Jon Feliciano and Nick Gates walk in free agency.
Jalin Hyatt, WR (3.73)
A top-five wide receiver prospect and Round 2 value on a number of public draft boards, Hyatt was one of a handful of Tennessee offensive players who fell later than predicted in the draft. But while he ran a limited route tree for the Volunteers and saw a percentage of free releases he cannot hope to enjoy in the NFL, Hyatt has a trait in his 4.4-second speed to translate to the next level. Just don’t expect him to become the volume No. 1 receiver the Giants still need. Hyatt is undersized at 6-foot-0 and 176 pounds and may contribute as much as a space-creator on clear-out routes as he does as an explosive touchdown scorer.
Additions
Free agent signings: LB Bobby Okereke, DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DT A’Shawn Robinson, WR Parris Campbell, S Bobby McCain, C J.C. Hassenauer, CB Amani Oruwariye, WR Jamison Crowder, WR Jeff Smith, TE Tommy Sweeney
Trades: TE Darren Waller
A’Shawn Robinson, DT
The Giants may have improved as a rushing offense in 2022. But their 12.1% run defense DVOA was dead last in football. Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches should address that glaring team weakness with their combined 637 pounds. The Giants just shouldn’t expect much pass-rushing versatility from their new interior defense. Robinson and Nunez-Roches have just one season of 20-plus pass pressures in 15 combined professional seasons — and that was Robinson way back in 2017.
Bobby Okereke, LB
It wasn’t just a lack of size up front. The Giants owe a healthy share of their poor run defense to poor tackling. And the team’s upgrade from Tae Crowder to Bobby Okereke at linebacker should help that shortcoming. Okereke whiffed on two fewer run tackles than Crowder did in 2022 (8 vs. 10) and played nearly twice as many total snaps (968 vs. 445).
Darren Waller, TE
The Giants may have made their best bet for a potential No. 1 receiver on the tight end Waller, but that bet carries some risk. The veteran fell dramatically from 6.1 average yards after the catch in 2019 and 2020 — sixth highest among tight ends with 50 or more catches — to 4.2 the last two seasons — ninth lowest. The team is hoping that Waller will rediscover his athletic dominance if he shakes the ankle and hamstring injuries that have limited him the last two years.
Departures
WR Kenny Golladay, C Nick Gates, S Julian Love, C/G Jon Feliciano, WR Richie James, DT Justin Ellis, DT Nicholas Williams, DT Henry Mondeaux, S Landon Collins, S Tony Jefferson, WR Marcus Johnson, CB Fabian Moreau, LB Jaylon Smith
Kenny Golladay, WR
Even after their Day 2 Jalin Hyatt pick, the Giants lack a big-bodied No. 1 receiver. Golladay filled that need on paper when he signed for $72 million in 2021. But the former Lions receiver made it just halfway through his four-year deal thanks to myriad injuries to his hip, knee and hamstrings and eroding explosiveness. Golladay has averaged just 3.0 yards after the catch the last three seasons, the 12th-lowest rate among 130 wide receivers with 50 or more catches.
Feliciano blew 3.3% of his run blocks in 2022, and he and fellow departing free agent Nick Gates were the weak links of a top 10 rushing offense. That may not sound like the profile of a Kyle Shanahan free agent target. But the 49ers added Feliciano with an apparent plan to shift him to play right guard where his lesser athleticism will hopefully be less of a hindrance to a pull-heavy, outside zone rushing scheme.
Julian Love, S
If the Giants’ efforts to improve their run defense backfire, it will likely be because of their safeties with Love, Landon Collins and Tony Jefferson all departing in free agency or retiring. Love missed just five run tackles in 16 starts in 2022 and earned a decent Seahawks contract because of it. The Giants can survive the losses if former first-round pick Xavier McKinney can return healthy from a scary hand injury. But it would help the team if either veteran Bobby McCain or seventh-round rookie Gervarrius Owens outplayed his modest acquisition cost.
New York Giants Fantasy Outlook
The three most interesting Giants fantasy options:
Saquon Barkley, RB
Saquon Barkley finally enjoyed a full, healthy season in 2022. But his resulting 15.9% broken tackle rate ranked just 21st of the 39 backs with 100 or more carries. The Giants may be skeptical that the veteran ever returns to the top-five draft pick standard that he showed with top 10 broken tackle, explosive run, and yards after contact rates in his rookie 2018 season, pre-ACL injury. And that skepticism could have the team and Barkley headed toward a contract extension stalemate this offseason.
Daniel Jones, QB
Daniel Jones had as much to do with the Giants’ rushing improvements in 2022 as their star runner back Saquon Barkley. And while the veteran quarterback’s jump from previous career highs of 423 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to 708 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022 fan fears of potential regression, Jones strikes me as a surprisingly safe bet for an encore 2023 fantasy season. In his first Giants season, head coach Brian Daboll treated Jones like his former star quarterback Josh Allen, and Jones finished third behind just Allen and Justin Fields with 404 scramble yards.
Isaiah Hodgins, WR
Isaiah Hodgins (1.89), Wan’Dale Robinson (2.02) and Darius Slayton (2.31) all finished in the top 45 receivers in yards per route run in 2022, and all are compelling sleeper choices in 2023 after the team made just modest additions at the position this offseason. I favor Hodgins because he has ideal outside receiver size at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds and because he ranked second at the position with a 15.3% catch rate over expected per Next Gen Stats.
2023 Outlook
DraftKings Sportsbook Wins Over/Under: 7.5 (+100)
The Giants flew past their preseason expectations, won nine games and made a compelling case that Brian Daboll was the best new coaching hire in 2022. But Daboll saw similar unanticipated success in Year 1 of his former boss Sean McDermott’s tenure in Buffalo. And the Bills regressed by three wins as they continued to turn over their roster in Year 2. Fans should be thrilled with the current trajectory. But an over/under of 7.5 wins sets a realistic expectation for a still-rebuilding Giants roster. The team can compete for the playoffs if they beat their Pythagorean win expectation for the second straight season. But their No. 1 goal in 2023 is evaluating Daniel Jones as a potential long-term franchise quarterback.
