Eli Manning

Week 4 vs. New Orleans Saints

Eli Manning had an efficient game against the Texans last week, completing 25-of-29 passes for 297 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was also sacked four times, as protection up front continues to be an issue. Manning has been sacked 12 times through three games, the fourth-most in the league.

Manning has some upside this week against the Saints. No team has given up more fantasy points to the quarterback position than the Saints have—34.3 points allowed per game. Manning is too erratic to count on in every league, but he has upside in a great matchup as a streaming option.

Week 2 at Dallas Cowboys

Eli Manning struggled predictively against the stingy Jaguars defense last week, putting up 224 yards and a pick in a five-point loss to the start the season. The right side of his offensive line gave him very little time against monsters like Calais Campbell. Manning should do a little better against the Cowboys this week, but he’s still risky. Dallas held Cam Newton to only 161 passing yards last week, making it risky to bank on Eli to bounce back in Week 2.

Fantasy Upside

Coming off a tumultuous season that included the first benching of his career, Eli Manning will enter 2018 with some new weapons to work with, as well as a new head coach. He will finally have an elite running back behind him, with second-overall pick Saquon Barkley set to take the league by storm, and he should benefit from the return of Odell Beckham Jr. from injury. Manning will also have a new left tackle in former New England Patriot Nate Solder, and a new guard in Will Hernandez, a second-round rookie from UTEP. New head coach Pat Shurmur helped journeyman Case Keenum to top-15 fantasy production last season, so there is upside for Manning.

Fantasy Downside

Manning has always been wildly erratic and he’s coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. He threw for only 3,468 yards last season—his lowest total since 2008—and only 19 touchdowns. It was one of only two seasons as a full-time starter that Eli failed to reach 20 touchdown passes. Manning is also 37 years old, and if the new pieces on the offensive line don’t mesh right away, he may struggle with protection issues up front again. Throw in learning a new system, and it’s hard to get too excited about Manning at this stage in his career.

2018 Bottom Line

Manning will likely go undrafted in most leagues, but he’ll present some interesting streaming value throughout the season. He’s been a viable fantasy option in spurts throughout his career, and the Giants are bound to have better luck with injuries than last year, when Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shepard all missed time throughout the year. He’s a viable backup in leagues that start two quarterbacks, but he should probably stay on waivers in single-quarterback leagues.