Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, October 4th at 4:05 PM ET
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Betting Odds: LAR -13, 48 Total via Oddsshark
Network: FOX
New York Giants
Quarterback
Daniel Jones (Sit)
Everyone knew that that the Giants’ early-season schedule would be difficult for Daniel Jones, but the offense has been worse than we could have expected. Jones has a minus 3.8 CPOE (completion percentage over expectation) and is ranked 30th out of starting QBs per Ben Baldwin’s (of the Athletic) composite QB score. Jason Garrett has done nothing to help Jones, showing zero creativity and calling the least amount of plays with pre-snap motion in the NFL. Jones is not startable until the schedule eases up and the Giants show some kind of improvement on offense.
Running Backs
DeVonta Freeman (Sit), Dion Lewis (Sit), Wayne Gallman (Sit)
It is not often that you have three relevant RBs on a team to talk about and none of them are start-worthy. But here we are. DeVonta Freeman will likely see the majority of carries soon, possibly even this week, but this matchup is not one where we want to hope and project for Freeman. Dion Lewis will continue to have a role in the receiving game but he was unimpressive all last season and has not done anything this year to change any opinions. Wayne Gallman was technically the starter last week, but he has not shown much in his Giants tenure to make the team believe he is much more than a third-string option. Eventually, Freeman may be startable as a flex option, but right now this is just a three-back committee (which are killers for fantasy) on a horrid offense.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Darius Slayton (Start, Flex), Golden Tate (Sit), Evan Engram (Start, TE1)
Darius Slayton has proven that he is the best offensive weapon on the team (without Saquon Barkley obviously). The problem is when the offense is this bad, it won’t matter much how good you are. Slayton is still tied for eighth in routes run among WRs and will continue to see volume from Jones. Its not a great feeling but he is an ok flex play. Golden Tate will see a usage and production bump without Sterling Shepard in the lineup, but I would hold off on playing him this week in this tough matchup. Evan Engram owners must be fuming with his performance this year, and it has been a microcosm of the offense as a whole. Mistakes and miscues leading to poor performances. He is third in routes run among TEs so he should still be started. But if he does not score points soon, then we will be moving on.
Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback
Jared Goff (Start, QB1)
Jared Goff and the Rams offense as a whole has been great. It’s looking more likely that 2019 was a blip for the team and not a trend. Goff is currently sixth in the composite QB score discussed above and has a 6.2 CPOE, which is a jump for him. Goff had been sitting in the negative or just broke even in CPOE the past 3 seasons. Goff has been playing some of the best football of his career. Goff is an obvious start against this weak Giants’ defense.
Running Backs
Darrell Henderson (Start, RB2), Malcolm Brown (Sit, Deep Flex), Cam Akers (Sit)
Darrell Henderson had over 100 yards and a touchdown last week and is the focus of a lot of fantasy discussion this week. It should be made clear though that Malcolm Brown still played the same amount of snaps as Henderson. Henderson did run 17 routes to Brown’s 10, which shows he has an edge in the receiving game. Henderson should be treated as a flex option going forward and I have him as an RB2 this week due to the easy matchup. Brown is a deeper flex option as he should still play a good amount of snaps but given how well Henderson performed last week, he could lose a bit of volume. The last we heard from Sean McVay was that Cam Akers is day to day and right now he is a sit until we hear otherwise.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Robert Woods (Start, WR2), Cooper Kupp (Start, WR2), Tyler Higbee (Start, TE1)
Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp are co-number one receivers, which makes them both WR2s in fantasy. Woods leads the team in routes run with 90, but Kupp is right behind him with 88. Kupp leads the team in targets with 21, but Woods is close with 19. With such a consolidated passing game and the offense humming, both Woods and Kupp will be strong for fantasy all year. Tyler Higbee had one monster game and otherwise been meh so far. There are some signs of concern too, he ran only 14 routes last week and they had been consistently dropping since Week 1. Higbee is only 30th in routes run among TEs, which is lower than Rob Gronkowski. The three-touchdown day has saved him so far, but if you have Higbee I would be looking to roster a possible replacement. Luckily, this week he gets the Giants, who have been one of the worst teams at defending TEs for the past few seasons.
-Frank Costanzo (@FrankQBList on Twitter, Zzzonked92 on Reddit)