Fantasy Upside
Chris Givens flashed the same playmaking ability in the third preseason game this year as he did as a rookie in the 2012 regular season. Against Cleveland, he caught a pass on a crossing route, broke a tackle and raced 75 yards for a touchdown. There's no question that he has the straight-line speed to be a factor in the passing game and it was only a year ago that he was starting in the Rams' offense.
Fantasy Downside
Givens was more productive as a part-time player in his rookie year of 2012 than he was as a full-time starter in 2013. He caught just 34 passes for 569 yards and failed to score a touchdown while finishing as fantasy's WR82 last season. Making matters worse, he's tumbled down the Rams' depth chart this offseason as Kenny Britt and Brian Quick have emerged as the starters. In fact, before he caught his touchdown against the Browns in Week 3 of the preseason, there was talk that he could be one of the team's final cuts.
Bottom Line
Even if one of the starters were to be injured, Givens offers no fantasy value. The league seemingly figured him out a year ago when defenses took away his deep threat potential and forced him to win on contested passes at the second level. He failed, and now he'll have to carve out a role as a situational deep threat in order to stick with the Rams. Avoid him on draft day.