Week 6 – Eli Manning vs. Philadelphia
Eli Manning had a modest 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a win over the Falcons last week, as the Giants progressed to 3-2. Eli has looked much better in recent weeks and appears to be fantasy relevant again. Most impressively, he’s stayed away from turning the ball over, which is a great sign for fantasy owners who snatched him up as a backup.
This week, Eli faces an Eagles pass defense that ranks 29th in the league in passing yards allowed per game, and just got torched by Austin Davis of the Rams for 375 yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles have an opportunistic defense that may force Eli into a turnover, but the Giants should be able to move the ball this week, making Eli a nice bye week filler for Drew Brees owners, and he ranks 10th on our board.
Week 5 – Eli Manning vs. Atlanta
Eli Manning exploded last week in a blowout win over Washington, putting up 300 yards passing, four touchdown through the air, and he capped it off with a touchdown run (a very rare site for any Manning)! While probably a bit of a fluky performance, Manning has looked more comfortable in the new offense the last two weeks than he did the first two, and fantasy owners should be back to considering him at least a viable backup QB.
Against Atlanta this week, Eli should have plenty of cause to throw the ball. The Falcons allow the second most passing yards per game this season and they have a potent offense that should keep the game closer than last week’s matchup against Washington. Eli is still a risky bet, as he’s been wildly inconsistent throughout most of his career, but he’s not a bad spot starter if you need him this week, and we have him in the top 15 in our rankings, making him a nice QB2.
Week 4 – Eli Manning vs. Washington
Eli Manning had 234 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes in the Giants first victory of the season in Week 3 against the Texans. Most importantly and impressively, this was the first week of the young season where Manning didn’t have any turnovers, a good sign for Giants fans and fantasy owners.
This week, Manning faces a Washington pass defense that gave up big numbers to Nick Foles in Week 3. Manning may have earned his fantasy roster spot back, but even with a good matchup, Erratic Eli is too volatile to count on in your lineup. He’s not a horrible bye week option, but if fantasy owners can look elsewhere they should.
Week 3 – Eli Manning vs. Houston
Eli Manning has had two terrible weeks in a row, and he finished once again with multiple interceptions (two) in another loss. He ended up with decent yardage totals, getting 277 yards through the air and throwing a pair of touchdowns, but the Giants offense still looks to be struggling early in the season.
This week, he faces a tough Texans defense that has looked dominant over the first two weeks, but has played inferior competition. Raiders rookie Derek Carr passed for 263 yards and a touchdown against Houston last week, but most of that came in garbage time as the Raiders got blown out. Until Eli shows he has a handle on the new offense and the Giants start to click, there’s no reason to count on Manning as a fantasy starter. Keep him on the bench (or cut ties).
Week 2 – Eli Manning vs. Arizona
Eli Manning looked horrible in Week 1, throwing for only 163 yards, a touchdown, and two picks against the Lions on Monday night. He completed less than 55 percent of his passes, and the new West Coast Offense did not seem to change his propensity to just chuck the ball up under pressure.
This week, Eli faces a Cardinals defense that is better than the one he saw last week, and fantasy owners should leave Eli alone for the time being. Maybe he’ll do better in this new offense as the season progresses, but until he does, he looks to still be a turnover machine.
Week 1 – Eli Manning vs. Detroit
Eli Manning is coming off an up-and-down preseason. He didn’t play a ton, and when he did, he looked uneven in the new offensive system from new coordinator Ben McAdoo. He finished with a touchdown and no picks (which is saying something for Eli), but he completed less than 50 percent of his passes, which is worrisome in an offense that is supposed to improve completion percentage in passers.
In Week 1, Eli has a great matchup against one of the worst secondaries in the league. Detroit gave up the tenth most passing yards per game last season and didn’t do anything to improve the defensive side of the ball in the offseason. While this game could be a shootout, it’s hard to trust the younger Manning after a season where he led the league in interceptions. Fantasy owners should watch him closely but look elsewhere in leagues were you start only one quarterback.
Eli Manning has always been a bit erratic, and he really showed it last season. The Giants finished the season strong at 7-9 after a horrendous 0-6 start to 2013, and Eli led the league with 27 interceptions, beating his own personal record of 25 from back in 2010. When all was said and done, the Giants were sitting at home in December, and Eli threw for just over 3,800 yards and only 18 touchdowns. The Giants and Eli both will be hoping 2014 shows that last year was just a fluke.
Fantasy Upside
Eli will have a new offensive coordinator for the first time since 2007 now that longtime coach Kevin Gilbride has chosen to retire after 24 years of NFL coaching. The addition of former Packers tight ends and quarterback coach Ben McAdoo will bring a west coast style offense to the Giants, and will inject a fresh new look into an offense that looked stagnant for much of the 2013 season. Manning has always been erratic, but the west coast system could keep Manning’s completion percentage up and his turnovers down, as he’ll be trusting his playmaking receivers and backs to do more of the work rather than heaving the ball downfield constantly. With the talent and weapons around Manning, the components are in place for him to bounce back from last year.
Fantasy Downside
Did I mention Eli is erratic? With a career completion percentage of under 59%, Eli has never been Mr. Pinpoint Accuracy, and with a timing based west coast offense to adhere to now, it’s possible that he’ll struggle with the adjustment. New systems can be great for quarterbacks or they can cause trouble. At 33 years old, it’s very possible that we’ve seen the best Eli has to offer, and that he’ll always be a candidate to challenge for 20 picks in a season. In leagues that penalize for interceptions, starting Eli can sometimes be a death wish.
Bottom Line
We are talking about a two time Super Bowl MVP here, and while Eli may never become as efficient as Aaron Rodgers, the new scheme brings some heavy bounce-back potential to the table, especially with talented players like Rashad Jennings, Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle around to take those short, west coast passes and turn them into big plays. Eli is probably too volatile to be counted on as your top quarterback this year, but he’s good value late in the draft with the potential to be a very good QB1 if he rebounds. Additionally, Eli is an ironman who hasn’t missed a game his entire career, so durability alone gives him some fantasy value.
