There has been a flurry of player movement this offseason and fans and other interested parties are scrambling to find out which moves are for the better and which ones aren’t.
NBC SportsEdge’s fantasy football expert Matthew Berry broke down his favorite — and not so favorite — moves thus far this offseason and, low and behold, two moves by the New York Giants are on his list of “loves.”
Berry sees the four-year, $160 million extension the Giants doled out to quarterback Daniel Jones as a bold stroke by general manager Joe Schoen.
After transforming Josh Allen into a quarterbacking monster in Buffalo, Brian Daboll guided Daniel Jones to a career year in his first season at the helm of the Giants. Daboll is the Quarterback Whisperer. Although his style is probably less whispering, more yelling-loudly-in-your-face-with-cigar-breath. But hey, whatever works. Jones had career highs in passing and rushing yards last season on the way to finishing as QB9 (and QB8 in PPG).
He had nine games with 30-plus rushing yards (fourth-most among quarterbacks) and five games with 20-plus fantasy points. That’s the same number of 20-plus games he had over the previous two seasons combined.
And this offseason the Giants retained his top weapons (Saquon Barkley, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard) and then went out and added two more pieces in Darren Waller and Parris Campbell. Maybe you don’t think Daniel Jones is worth a $160 million contract, but the good news is that you don’t have to pay him any of that money to put up numbers for your fantasy team.
About that trade for Waller, who the Giants got with the third-round selection they received from Kansas City in return for wide receiver Kadarius Toney:
Sometimes a player puts up numbers simply on talent alone. Sometimes a player produces because he happens to be a perfect fit for a system. And sometimes a player puts up numbers simply because he wants to make your fantasy team lose. But you really have something in fantasy when both talent and system are in play. We might have that with Darren Waller on the Giants. Since 2019, Waller is fourth among tight ends in yards per route run, while posting the third-most receptions on crossing routes over the same stretch. Why is that significant? Because last season Daniel Jones targeted crossing routes at the third-highest rate. Look for Waller to finish much higher this season than the TE9 in PPG he managed in 2022.
It is expected that the training wheels will be off of Jones from here on out, which means deeper throws and the potential for big plays down the field.
