Both of these teams lost last weekend, putting fantasy football managers in a tough spot to try to determine what was real within the struggles and what was fluky. The New York Giants fantasy outlook for the week is centered around how highly Daniel Jones should rank, while the Arizona Cardinals fantasy preview focuses on the boring — but stable — value of James Conner.
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New York Giants at Arizona Cardinals
- Spread: Giants -4.5
- Total: 40
- Giants implied points: 22.3
- Cardinals implied points: 17.8
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones: The hate for Jones after a prime-time dud against the Cowboys (104 pass yards, 43 rush yards, and two interceptions) makes sense, but it was a brutal spot. Bad weather, playing from behind for basically the entire game, and his first real action with a few of his primary targets.
Better times are certainly ahead for Mr. Dimes, and that could start as soon as Sunday. Last season, Jones completed 71.9% of his passes with 11 scores and just one interception in Giants wins, far out-pacing his 61.6% completion rate, along with as many TD passes as INTs in losses. As a 4.5-point road favorite, Jones is certainly in a spot where he could return top-10 value at the position.
Running Backs
Saquon Barkley: I said it on the PFN Fantasy Podcast this week, and I’ll say it again: I think the Giants score this week. Crazy, I know, but I feel good about it.
The G-men were blanked on Sunday Night Football to open their season, and that kept Barkley’s production in check (63 yards), but that’s nothing I’m reading into. Barkley is the same elite talent that you drafted in August and ought to be locked into all lineups, with his expensive DFS price tag also being worthy of consideration.
James Conner: And the award for the most projectable stat line of Week 1 goes to … James Conner! In a mess of an offensive game, Conner touched the ball 19 times for 70 yards with no touchdowns. We’re going to end up within one standard deviation of that production just about every week, but as underwhelming as it may be, it was good for an RB24 finish against the Commanders.
Rinse, repeat. Get ready for an equally boring, semi-useful stat line. One more indicator of his limited per-touch upside is the fact that 137.5% of Conner’s receiving yards came on one of his five receptions.
Wide Receivers
Isaiah Hodgins, Jalin Hyatt, and Darius Slayton: Any game with 110 passing yards isn’t going to be kind on the receiver position, nor is it going to help us sort out the hierarchy. That leaves us in a spot where all Giants receivers are borderline unrosterable.
Hodgins was responsible for the Giants’ biggest play of Week 1 (24-yard reception), while Slayton, a proven big-play threat, turned his five targets into a meager 15 yards.
MORE: Fantasy Updated Rest-of-Season Rankings Week 2
Hyatt was an afterthought in his NFL debut (one target) after showing out during the preseason — further proof that the transition to the professional level can be a bumpy one.
I’d hold any Giants receiver you have through this week. If Week 2 looks anything remotely close to Week 1, feel free to cut ties. This schedule has very few plus-matchups for the passing game on it, so don’t be shy about moving on should the cloudy nature of the target distribution remain.
Marquise Brown: In early August, we were all worried about Hollywood’s upside in an offense led by Colt McCoy. After one week of the Joshua Dobbs experience, I’d be thrilled to have McCoy as the man responsible for getting Brown the rock.
Marquise Brown's splits vs. man coverage as a member of the Arizona Cardinals ⤵️
Man coverage:
– 29.3% target per route run rate
– 1.83 yards per route runZone coverage:
– 20.2% TPRR
– 1.36 YPRRHe gets the ultra-aggressive NYG defense in Week 2.
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23)
No Cardinals player reached 35 receiving yards last weekend in Washington in a game in which you could argue they overachieved because they covered the spread.
The Cards have the Cowboys and 49ers in Weeks 3-4. I’m not saying you have the green light to drop Brown, but I’m not saying it’s off the table if there is reliable volume sitting on your wire.
Rondale Moore: Arizona tried to get creative and get Moore the ball in space, but there’s only so much makeup you can put on a pig.
Moore picked up 12 yards on two carries and hauled in a 31-yard pass on a wheel route, making him the most exciting player in this passing game for the week by far. I’d rather take a shot on any of the Giants receivers and hope to catch lightning in a bottle than tie up a roster spot with Moore.
Tight Ends
Darren Waller: In his team debut, Waller looked healthy on his way to leading the Giants in catches, targets, and receiving yards. Now, that doesn’t mean he was productive (three catches for 36 yards), but he was involved enough for me to remain confident that he’ll be a top-five tight end this season. Lock him in, and don’t think twice about it!
Zach Ertz: The veteran earned a 30% target share in the Week 1 loss and rewarded fantasy managers with all of 5.1 half-PPR points. Yikes. That rate of involvement is far from sustainable, and that lack of fantasy efficiency is why Ertz can be left on waiver wires.
Trey McBride gained two more yards than Ertz with his two targets. I’m happy to pass on just about anything attached to Arizona. The tight end position is certainly no exception.
Who Should You Start in Week 2?
Should You Start James Conner or Rachaad White?
I think there’s a world in which the Buccaneers score 25 points, and that gives White hope that the Cardinals simply don’t have.
Both of these backs profile as feature backs. That elevates the fantasy floor to a useable level, so White’s offensive support gives him a slight edge in my Week 2 ranks.
Should You Start Marquise Brown or Romeo Doubs?
With various skill-position injuries in Green Bay, the usability of Doubs should extend at least one more week. He’s my play here, putting me in agreement with our PFN Consensus Rankings. I expect the raw target count to be similar, but Doubs is part of an offense that moved the ball last week and showed some promise. What is the upside of the Cardinals’ offense — this week or any week?
