Player Profile: Eli Manning

 

Set the way back machine for 2013. It was my 2nd year with my main auction fantasy league. I was coming of a decent 2012 season and felt pretty confident that 2013 was my year to win it all. The younger Mr. Manning had something to say about that. In fact, he had 27 things to say about that.

    I don't recall what I paid for him in our auction draft, but it was way too much. That season Eli threw 18 touchdowns to his 27 interceptions. Soak it in. Twenty-seven interceptions. I'll be the first to go on record as saying there's no way I could throw 18 touchdowns in the NFL. No way. But, I'm pretty sure that if I set my mind to it, I could toss up 27 interceptions and for a lot less money than Eli made that year. 

    Needless to say, I didn't win that season and haven't drafted him in snake or auction formats since.

So why in the heck did I decide to write an article about why he's not only draftable, but looks to be a solid value pick in 2017? 

Let's take a look shall we? 

The 2016 season was very up and down for Eli. He threw for just over 4,000 yards with 26 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Not a really great stat line for the two-time Superbowl winner. In fact, most of his stats last year were lower than what he typically averages. The lack of a running game certainly didn't help him much. 

What makes this year look better is the weapons around him. We are all familiar with Odell Beckham and even the kicking net know's he's a stud. The Giants have added potential Hall of Famer, Brandon Marshall to the mix. They drafted an immediate plug and play TE in Evan Engram and let's not forget young Sterling Shepard. 

Paul Perkins will be the starting running back. Immediately, you should expect a better season long outing from him compared to the less than 600 yards Rashad Jennings rumbled for last year. Having a viable running game will open up options for Manning as well.

What I'm trying to say, it's the offensive side of the ball is looking pretty locked and loaded, and while Eli is going to make his mistakes, he's got the weapons to throw to. 

I'm not suggesting that Eli is going to throw less than double digit interceptions. His current projections have him to be around 4,200 yards, with 28 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. I wouldn't be surprised to see him put up one or two more touchdowns with the players they've put around him. 

I'm also not suggesting Eli as a starter in single QB leagues, unless it's a deep league. But I think he's worth a look in two QB leagues, leagues that use a superflex, and as a match up dependent streaming option. 

His current ADP is around 128th. 

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Thanks for reading!