The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key New York Giants players heading into their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs to help you craft a winning lineup.
Russell Wilson, QB
Adam Schefter reported last Saturday that the Giants weren’t feeling any pressure to move on from Russell Wilson in favor of Jaxson Dart.
I can’t imagine that sentiment changed after the future Hall of Famer lit up the Cowboys for a career-high 450 yards through the air.
We did get some weird platooning spots, and Wilson did throw an interception in overtime that ultimately doomed the G-Men, but there is still some gas left in the tank in the right spots for the artist formerly known as Mr. Unlimited.
Not every matchup is the Cowboys, however, and with a low implied total, I’ve got no problem in ranking Wilson outside of the top 20 at the position after his historic week.
Remember, this is a weekly game. Wilson was fun last week, but not a single one of those moonballs will be reflected in your Week 3 boxscore. That concept seems simple, but many people lose sight of it because they want to chase what they missed.
You’re better than that.
Cam Skattebo, RB
Cam Skattebo plays football the same way Russell Westbrook plays basketball: one speed at all times. That is obviously hard for defenses to deal with, but it’s also hard on the human skeleton over time.
The rookie saw three touches in the first quarter over the weekend and finished the instant classic against the Cowboys with 59 yards from scrimmage and a score. He’s tough as nails, and the Giants clearly trust him, giving us a more “when” not “if” situation for him to assume control of this backfield.
It’s never that easy.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. is just 25 years old and cleared 1,100 yards as a rookie. This isn’t a Falcons situation where Atlanta spent huge on Bijan Robinson with the intention of him taking over Tyler Allgeier’s bellcow role. It feels more like a “we are building a committee to grow alongside our franchise QB” sort of situation.
Not ideal for fantasy managers.
Both are fluid pass catchers, and I think the “right” answer as to which one is most valuable down the stretch this season will largely depend on who the quarterback is.
Assuming neither outperforms the other by a wide margin, I suspect New York will opt for the RB with a little more NFL seasoning in Tracy when they make the inevitable shift to Jaxson Dart.
That could change in short order, but that would be my guess, and that’s why I still give Tracy the slightest of edges moving forward. This, however, is not the type of backfield that can sustain multiple RBs, so in the short term, I have no intention of playing either in a redraft setting.
Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB
The casualty of a 77-point overtime thriller is going to be the run game more often than not, and Tracy Jr. only recorded five carries on Sunday in Dallas as a result.
I’m encouraged by the fact that he’s seen five targets in both games this season, especially heading into a matchup with a winless Chiefs team that could have New York in another pass-centric script.
That said, 15 carries for 39 yards isn’t going to hold off Skattebo for very long.
Tracy is five spots higher than his rookie “backup” for me in Week 3, a brutal matchup that I’m actively looking to avoid if possible (flex receivers I’d play over him include Matthew Gollayne and Darnell Mooney).
Darius Slayton, WR
Darius Slayton had a 52-yard catch last week, but in a game where Wilson was handing out targets like candy, I’m more concerned by the low usage than impressed by his ability to do the one thing we know he can do.
Three targets in a game where Wilson throws 41 passes is a bad sign, and if he didn’t sniff lineup viability in a game where Wilson produced maybe one of the top-10 stat lines of the season at the position, when is going to be the right time to play Slayton?
This just isn’t the type of player I have many shares of. My bench will have one boom/bust profile, but it’s almost always attached to an offense I trust more than I currently trust the Giants (Alec Pierce at this point checks that box, and Darnell Mooney at a higher level of this profile).
Malik Nabers, WR
Malik Nabers is coming off the best game of his young career (37.7 PPR points) and has established himself as one of the greatest forces of nature in the league.
Tough matchup? Don’t care.
Shaky QB projections? Not worried.
Nabers is a highlight waiting to happen and will get every chance to showcase his talent. He’s seen at least 10 targets in 12 of 17 career games, and it feels like they aren’t throwing his way enough.
Multiple 165+ receiving yard games within their first 17 NFL contests (active players):
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Justin Jefferson
- Malik Nabers
That’s the tier Nabers has put himself in, and if Wilson can deliver league-average play every week, we are looking at a real threat to lead the position in scoring.
If the G-Men make a change under center, I’ll have to move some things around, but the impact wouldn’t change my expectations for their alpha receiver in a meaningful way.
Whatever you paid for Nabers this summer is going to feel like a bargain entering the 2026 season.
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR
Like we’ve said for years, play Wan’Dale Robinson when you need upside and big plays.
40% of Robinson’s career 30+ yard catches have come today
Sunday’s explosion was a good reminder that, as my friend Matthew Berry says, “this is a funny game played with an oblong ball. Goofy stuff happens”.
If you told me Robinson was lining up in a college game this weekend, I’m not sure I would give you an 8-142-1 projection, but that’s what he did in the craziest game of Week 2 in Dallas. Heck, we weren’t even 100% sure he was healthy entering this game after an ankle injury cost him reps during the week.
The important thing here is not to overreact. Entering this season, Robinson was a floor elevator that was good as a flex option when you felt good about the rest of your roster and just wanted your ship to be steady.
That’s what he was entering last week, and that’s what he’ll be entering next week. The Cowboys were missing Daron Bland last week and have an offense geared to get into those types of shootouts. The Chiefs are healthy on defense and show no interest in a track meet.
Robinson was good for six catches and 55 yards in Week 1 against the Commanders, a stat line that is much more likely to be what we get on Sunday than the outlier of outlier games he’s fresh off of.
