Eli Manning has always been a bit erratic, and he really showed it last season. The Giants finished the season strong at 7-9 after a horrendous 0-6 start to 2013, and Eli led the league with 27 interceptions, beating his own personal record of 25 from back in 2010. When all was said and done, the Giants were sitting at home in December, and Eli threw for just over 3,800 yards and only 18 touchdowns. The Giants and Eli both will be hoping 2014 shows that last year was just a fluke.
Fantasy Upside
Eli will have a new offensive coordinator for the first time since 2007 now that longtime coach Kevin Gilbride has chosen to retire after 24 years of NFL coaching. The addition of former Packers tight ends and quarterback coach Ben McAdoo will bring a west coast style offense to the Giants, and will inject a fresh new look into an offense that looked stagnant for much of the 2013 season. Manning has always been erratic, but the west coast system could keep Manning’s completion percentage up and his turnovers down, as he’ll be trusting his playmaking receivers and backs to do more of the work rather than heaving the ball downfield constantly. With the talent and weapons around Manning, the components are in place for him to bounce back from last year.
Fantasy Downside
Did I mention Eli is erratic? With a career completion percentage of under 59%, Eli has never been Mr. Pinpoint Accuracy, and with a timing based west coast offense to adhere to now, it’s possible that he’ll struggle with the adjustment. New systems can be great for quarterbacks or they can cause trouble. At 33 years old, it’s very possible that we’ve seen the best Eli has to offer, and that he’ll always be a candidate to challenge for 20 picks in a season. In leagues that penalize for interceptions, starting Eli can sometimes be a death wish.
Bottom Line
We are talking about a two time Super Bowl MVP here, and while Eli may never become as efficient as Aaron Rodgers, the new scheme brings some heavy bounce-back potential to the table, especially with talented players like Rashad Jennings, Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle around to take those short, west coast passes and turn them into big plays. Eli is probably too volatile to be counted on as your top quarterback this year, but he’s good value late in the draft with the potential to be a very good QB1 if he rebounds. Additionally, Eli is an ironman who hasn’t missed a game his entire career, so durability alone gives him some fantasy value.
