The NFL schedule came out last week. Tradition continues as uncertainty looms over whether we will have a 2020 season or not. One of the more polarizing plays the the NFL made was having the Giants host a week 1 Monday night football game. East Rutherford, NJ is 8 miles west of New York City and that entire area is a Covid hotbed. I’m not an epidemiologist, but this still seems like a bold strategy by the NFL. The NFL clearly wants the consumer to have confidence that there will be football in 2020.Â
Speaking of confidence, Daniel Jones clearly had more confidence in himself than NFL mock drafters and fantasy football players. I will be the first to admit that I made a lot of jokes about the Giants spending their first of two picks in the first round of the 2019 draft on him. If his first start against Tampa was any indication, Gettleman is smarter than me. He let it fly in Florida completing 23 of 36 passes for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns despite being sacked 5 times. He also picked up key first downs during his 4 rushes for 28 yards. Even though Tampa had no business losing that game, Matt Gay missed his 5th field goal attempt from 36 yards out after making his first 4 attempts of the day. It doesn’t matter, Neither team was competing for a division title and it marked the arrival of the former Duke QB.Â
The price is right for Daniel Jones in 2020. It’s  very reasonable and there is a lot of room for profit. Jones is going in the 120-125 range in Bestball10s so far and that’s good for QB11. This is usually the range that I start thinking about grabbing my starting QB, so it’s right in my wheelhouse. Jones finished as the QB22 which isn’t bad considering that he only started 12 games. On a per game basis, Jones actually was the QB14 while averaging 17.6 FPPG. So why the positive trajectory in ADP?
A healthy Saquon Barkley will go a long way for the Giants’ offense. Barkley is a great pass catching option for Jones to go along with everything that he can do with a handoff. But the biggest improvement is that the Giants have completely rebuilt their offensive line for the 2020 season and brought in Marc Colombo to coach the line. If you’re not familiar with Colombo, he had a lot of success with the Cowboys o-line. The Giants also signed Cameron Fleming at right tackle which should lead to some immediate improvement.
The Giants problem is not skill position talent, they have plenty of it. The problems are on the defensive side of the ball, especially the pass rush. The defense giving up a lot of points can be beneficial for Jones from a fantasy perspective if the Giants play from behind on a semi-regular basis. Back to the skill position players though. I have a lot of hope for Darius Slayton. I think that he can be a top notch receiver in the NFL. The Giants also tout Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, and Evan Engram. That actually is a lot of talent! I’m drafting Daniel Jones in 2020 with the assumption that he should be a top 10 QB with top 6 or 7 potential.Â
