Once upon a time, Mario Manningham was a young and upcoming receiver for the Giants. In 2010, he had 944 yards and 9 touchdowns working as the third receiver in a prolific offense. Now, after two lost seasons where he was frequently injured in San Francisco, Manningham comes back to the Giants to fight for a roster spot.
Fantasy Upside
Manningham has made some good catches as a Giant and he only left the first time to chase more money and more opportunity as a 49er. The Giants are hoping a third receiver can emerge behind Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle, and with rookie Odell Beckham Jr. still nursing a nagging hamstring injury, the opportunity is there for Manningham to get his career back on track.
Fantasy Downside
Manningham is now 28 years old, is coming off two injury plagued seasons, and has never been the biggest or the fastest player on the field anyway. The Giants offense was pitiful last season, and while a new scheme this season has people optimistic about a rebound, there’s a lot of risk associated with grabbing a guy on what could be a bad team, fighting for a spot in the lineup.
Bottom Line
Manningham has little to no fantasy value at this time. He may or may not even make the final roster as the Giants look to cut down to their final 53 players, and even if he does, he won’t necessarily beat out Jerrel Jernigan for the WR3 spot, even if Beckham Jr. stays injured. If the rookie Beckham Jr. gets healthy, then Manningham will find it hard to see the field at all.
