Eli Manning (QB, NYG) - 2018 Fantasy Football Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~145

CURRENT ADP: ~155

ANALYSIS: Do you like Saquon Barkley? What about Odell Beckham Jr.? Evan Engram? All of those players are being drafted at sixth or higher at their positions, yet Manning is currently the 21st quarterback off the board. It’s really easy to dislike Manning’s prospects coming into the season. He was the 24th ranked quarterback in standard scoring last season, behind the likes of Jacoby Brissett and Josh McCown. He was a bottom five quarterback in both average intended air yards and average completed air yards, which essentially means he wasn’t attempting or completing deep passes. The Giants’ offensive line was atrocious last season, and Manning had the fifth lowest time to throw among NFL quarterbacks in 2017. Those are the reasons to pass on Manning. At this point in the draft season, he’s not only essentially free, but it seems unlikely much hype will be generated about him. Why get all hot-and-bothered over a 37-year-old coming off two straight down seasons when younger players like Mitchell Trubisky, Marcus Mariota, and Derek Carr are going at a similar cost?

The reason to take a chance on Manning isn’t based on his abilities, which are undeniably in decline. Rather, it’s because his situation has been vastly improved compared to last season. The Giants spent the second overall pick on Barkley, who will be a big part of the short passing game and help mask Manning’s struggles throwing the ball downfield. The Giants also upgraded their offensive line by signing Nate Solder to play left tackle and drafting Will Hernandez to play left guard. They also hired Pat Shurmur as their head coach, who has squeezed every ounce of talent out of Sam Bradford, Nick Foles, and Case Keenum in previous seasons. Manning bounced back once after a disastrous 2013 season for two straight seasons with 30 or more passing touchdowns, and if the Giants’ revamped offense succeeds Eli will be its facilitator. We could be looking at one last hurrah for the younger Manning brother this season.