The New York Giants have made plenty fantasy owners of wide receivers extremely happy this season. It's okay, though, the Giants have won two Super Bowls in the past ten years; they can share the wealth. Now it's time for owners of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker to get excited as well, as the New York Jets face the team they share a state(s) and a stadium with, in a matchup that happens only once every four years.
The Giants defense has given up the most total yards, 4,616, out of any team in the league. They also surrender 309.2 yards in the air and 419.6 yards overall per game; also league worsts. According to Yahoo! Sports, the Giants relinquish the 12th most fantasy points to wide receivers. Add the 20 receiving touchdowns they've allowed as well, and now tag in Brandon Marshall and get ready to watch him work.
Marshall is coming off his best fantasy performance of the season, picking up nine catches on 11 targets, for 131 yards and two touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins. Marshall and Ryan Fitzpatrick picked on Dolphins cornerback Jonathan Grimes the entire game and would be wise to do the same to a weak Giants secondary. Cornerback Prince Amukamara did return from injury last week against the Washington Redskins after missing several weeks, but should be no match for either Marshall or Decker.
Marshall has been targeted ten or more times in seven games this season and is 69 receiving yards shy of 1,000 for the season. He also has nine touchdowns and has caught 71 passes on 117 targets; numbers Jets fans haven't seen from a wide receiver in a very, very long time, if ever. He has been a fantasy stud all season, and is undoubtedly a WR1 this week against the bullied Giants defense. If the Jets want to make a run at postseason play, they'll need to continue relying heavily on Marshall, as should fantasy owners as well.
Decker has been a steady option at receiver all season and is now teetering around the WR1 title. Against Miami, Decker caught the ball five times on nine targets, for 62 yards and one touchdown. He has found the end zone in all but two games this season, and has established himself as one of Fitzpatrick's favorite targets inside the 20 yard line. The Jets have the highest red zone scoring percentage, 62.2%, in the league, largely in part to Decker's quick slants up the middle; a route that he's found success with in New York.
Decker has been targeted 85 times this season, a stat that'll likely boom past 100 for the season. He can be extremely dangerous in PPR formats but scores enough and picks up plenty of yards to throw up good numbers in standard leagues. Decker should be slotted into your lineup weekly, and is a WR1, this week, in another important game, for both teams.
The safe part about both Marshall and Decker is that they've been productive together and haven't jacked each other's targets. The Jets will continue throwing the ball enough with a now shaved Fitzpatrick. They are both top-ten plays at receiver this week.