Josh Brown beat out rookie challenger Brandon McManus, who was shipped off to the Broncos for a conditional 7th round pick. Brown, now 35 years old, did an adequate job as the Giants kicker last season, converting 23 of 26 field goals, and making all 31 extra point attempts. Brown will be entering his second season in New York, and the Giants will hope their revamped offense will create more opportunities for the veteran to put up some points.
Fantasy Upside
The Giants were dreadful last year on offense, and were particularly bad at finishing drives without turning the ball over. With a new Offensive Coordinator bringing the West Coast offense to New York, the Giants are hoping to cut down on the mistakes and to move the ball more effectively into scoring position this year. The Giants have proven as recently as two season ago that they can put up lofty field goal numbers, as Lawrence Tynes tied for second in the league with 33 field goals in 2012, so if new OC Ben McAdoo can get that offense humming, there’s potential for Brown.
Fantasy Downside
Did I mention the Giants were really bad last year? No really, Eli Manning threw 27 interceptions and had a minus-11 turnover differential. They were 28th in the league in overall offense, and when you look at the numbers, it’s hard to imagine how Brown even got 26 field goal attempts last year. A new coordinator might mean good things, but there’s a lot of risk banking on a team to have this big of a turnaround after such a horrible 2013 season.
Bottom Line
If Tynes finished second in field goals in 2012 and Brown finished 22nd last year, then the smart money is somewhere in the middle this season. We have Brown ranked 19th in our pre-season rankings, which is probably a safe way to view the veteran journeyman. Keeping an eye on him doesn’t hurt anything, but in all probability, Brown is just another guy at the position and fantasy owners should look to grab someone in a better offense.
