Welcome to the NFC East version of Optimus Fantasy’s Team Previews! Today, we’re looking at the New York Giants. In order to best know where we’re going, we often need to study where we’ve been. With that in mind, I will cover what the team looked like in 2024, fantasy significant changes to philosophy and personnel, and what I expect from the team in 2025. Your fantasy drafts are coming. Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready.

The New York Giants in 2024

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Team Stats
PROE	-3.39
4th Down Go For It!	26.43 +
Target GINI	0.5458
Rushing GINI	0.7173
Plays/Game: Offense	62.5

 

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Let’s start off by defining a few things, shall we?

Note: Any stat highlighted green with a “+” means it’s significantly, at least 1 standard deviation, above average. Any stat highlighted red with a “-“ means it’s significantly below average. If the stat is highlighted in blue and doesn’t have a symbol, it is within the standard deviation for that stat.

PROE – Pass Rate Over Expectation

2nd and 1 for the offense? Sure makes sense to run. 3rd and 12? Yup, absolutely reasonable to pass. PROE measures how often a team passed the ball when we would “expect” them to run. Such as on 2nd and 1. Obviously, this is our expectation, and part of the strategy is to do the unexpected. So it’s not a perfect encapsulation. However, over 17 games, this gives us a general idea of how an offensive coaching staff envisions their offensive strengths.

4th Down – Go For It!

It’s kinda just what it sounds like. Unlike PROE, there’s no “expectation” to this stat. Of all 4th downs, this is how often a team chose to go for it. Higher rates mean an offense has more chances to accumulate fantasy points. Conversely, it’s not as great for kickers. 

Target GINI

This is where my background in economics comes out. Without going too far down the rabbit hole, Target GINI is how concentrated a passing attack is among pass-catching targets. A Target GINI of 1 means every target went to one player. Perfectly evenly distributed targets among players result in a Target GINI of 0. 

Rushing GINI

The same as Target GINI, but for rushing. So a Rushing GINI of 1 means one player had 100% of the rushing attempts. A Rushing GINI of 0 means every player received an equal number of rushing attempts.

“Ok, I get what GINI is, but how is it helpful for us?” You know, you’re really great with these questions. Are you sure you’re not a fantasy football expert? At any rate, these metrics tell us how concentrated or siloed a team’s passing and rushing attacks are. For fantasy, we’re looking for them both to be as close to 1 as possible.

Plays/Game: Offense

Literally just what it sounds like, this is an average of how many plays per game a team’s offense runs. The idea is that more offensive plays equal more opportunities for our players to score fantasy points. Simple enough, right?

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Top Performers (HPPR 2024)
Daniel Jones	QB28
Tyrone Tracy	RB26
Devin Singletary	RB48
Malik Nabers	WR7
Wan’Dale Robinson	WR41
Darius Slayton	WR73
Theo Johnson	TE38
Greg Joseph	K31

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Significant Offseason Changes from ’24 to ’25

Lost: Daniel Jones

Added: Russell Wilson, Cam Skattebo, Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston

The Giants’ QB situation looks rough this year, very rough. That it’s still better than it was last year is impressive in a depressing way. 

The Giants’ offensive line is a bottom-five unit at best, and that’s with stalwart Andrew Thomas healthy and fully recovered from his 2024 Lisfranc injury. If Evan Neal can successfully kick inside to guard from tackle, it would do a world of good. 

Somehow, the Giants haven’t fired Brian Daboll, Joe Schoen, and company yet. But they all have to be on a short leash. Expect continuity to start the season, but monitor it if they go on a big losing streak to start the year.

Looking Ahead to the New York Giants in 2025

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Lou’s Confidence Level 1 – 5
Jaxson Dart (R)	1
Tyrone Tracy, Cam Skattebo (R)	2
Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson	4
Theo Johnson	2
Graham Gano	1

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Lou’s 2025 HPPR Rankings
Jaxson Dart (R)	QB30
Tyrone Tracy	RB32
Cam Skattebo (R)	RB36
Malik Nabers	WR2
Darius Slayton	WR66
Wan’Dale Robinson	WR76
Theo Johnson	TE26
Graham Gano	–

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Week	Opponent	Expected W/L
1	@ Washington	L
2	@ Dallas	L
3	Kansas City	L
4	Los Angeles Chargers	L
5	@ New Orleans	W
6	Philadelphia	L
7	@ Denver	L
8	@ Philadelphia	L
9	San Francisco	W
10	@ Chicago	L
11	Green Bay	W
12	@ Detroit	L
13	@ New England	L
14	BYE	–
15	Washington	W
16	Minnesota	L
17	@ Las Vegas	L

Lou’s projected 2025 “fantasy season” record: 4-12

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OK, Now For the Important (Non-Kicker) Giants

“Lou, you didn’t rank Graham Gano!” Very astute, and you are correct. I’m a big believer in saying, “I don’t know,” when someone asks me about things I’m ignorant about. I’m kicker-dumb. So if you’re here looking for insight on kickers, I’m very sorry. He’s in a training camp battle for the kicking spot on what will be a bad offense. Do with that info what you will.

Right off the bat, we need to talk about the Giants’ schedule. Those first eight weeks are an absolute gauntlet, and there’s a non-zero chance they could come home to face San Francisco in Week 9 with nary a win to their resume. Considering the recent resumes of Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, it’s legitimate to wonder if they would survive a start like that or yet another sub-five-win season. Even in the four wins I have them projected for – of the 16 games of the fantasy season, of course – three of those are over teams they probably shouldn’t beat. 

I have Jaxson Dart ranked highest among the Giants’ QBs, but make no mistake, I think multiple QBs will play throughout the season. The aforementioned schedule means we could see any or all of Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, Tommy DeVito, or even Phil Simms take snaps for the Giants in addition to Dart. Giants QBs may have value in individual weeks and matchups, but not for the season as a whole. Please do yourself a favor and don’t draft any.

If there was anything, and I do mean anything at WR beyond Malik Nabers, I’d rate that WR room a 5 for Confidence. As it is, I’ll likely move the other New York Giants WRs down soon, as they’ve looked downright pathetic anytime Nabers hasn’t been on the field. Maybe Wan’Dale Robinson can repeat his PPR scam from ’24, but I would rather take players who could do some actual good for my team unless I’m able to get Robinson very late.

Tyrone Tracy seems to be the unquestioned starter for the Giants right now. The problem is that his fumbling issues have plagued him both in New York and in college at Purdue. He might keep the job all year, all by himself. Currently, Cam Skattebo isn’t practicing due to a hurt hamstring, which helps Tracy’s cause. However, if Tracy’s fumbilitis continues, expect him to lose more and more work to Skattebo throughout the year.

If There is a League Winner On the Giants, it’s…

Cam Skattebo.

I’m gonna talk about Cam Skattebo, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. People get nervous when they hear players described as a “gamer” or a “scrapper.” I understand why it’s unsettling. It sounds like the player isn’t athletic. But you know who loves players like that? Coaches. Teammates. Cam Skattebo is exactly that type of player.

I fully expect Tyrone Tracy to start the season as the New York Giants’ primary RB, and he’ll probably have some success thanks to his speed. Skattebo does everything Tracy does, including the pass-catching, even if Skattebo doesn’t have the top-end speed Tracy does. What Skattebo doesn’t have is a fumbling issue. 

If, or I believe when, Skattebo starts taking playing time from Tracy, don’t expect him to give it back. Even if it takes a good way into the season, Skattebo is worth monitoring. The Giants’ schedule is much softer in the second half of the season, for one. For another, an RB who has fresh legs into November and December always seems to outperform what they would otherwise do – and summarily get drafted much higher than they should the following year, but that’s a different conversation. Finally, that “second half of the year,” where the schedule softens up and fresh legs matter so much? That’s where fantasy championships are won. 

Deep League Draft Target

If you’re looking for someone from the Giants to take late in your drafts, I have to wonder who hurt you to make you want to do this to yourself. Things may be bleak right now, but it gets better. I promise.

If you still feel compelled to take a Giant late, Darius Slayton makes for a reasonable gamble. With an ADP of 259 according to FantasyPros, he’s going routinely in the middle of the 22nd round of 12-team drafts. 

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Lou Brunson is a Senior Analyst and THE social media brains for Optimus Fantasy. Find his dynasty stylings on right here and at draftbuddy.com.