Fantasy Football Player Notes

Saquon Barkley was finally healthy in 2022 and reaped the rewards of playing in a much better offensive environment. He finished as the RB5 overall and in points per game, as he was able to recapture his explosive upside as both a rusher and receiver. Barkley finished second in overall touches (352) and backfield opportunity share (80%) behind only Josh Jacobs through 17 weeks. He also scored 10 rushing TDs with 23 carries inside the 10-yard line. In 2021, Barkley totaled just 13 red-zone touches all season. Let Barkley's return to glory show that you want to target young impending free agent RBs in improved offensive situations that project to earn high volume with proven records of production.

After putting together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020, Darren Waller has missed 14 games due to injury over the last two years. In 2021, a knee injury forced Waller to miss five late-season games. In 2022, a hamstring injury wiped out nearly half of his season. Now with the Giants, Waller could see a lot of targets for a team short on talent and size at the WR position. Waller has been reasonably productive when healthy the last two seasons, but he now has to be considered at least a mild health risk, and the big tight end will turn 31 in September.

A mistake-prone turnover machine during his first three NFL seasons, Daniel Jones flourished in Year Four under first-year Giants head coach Brian Daboll, finishing QB9 in fantasy scoring. Jones ran for 708 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022. He averaged only 200.3 passing yards per game and threw 15 TD passes in 15 starts, but Jones didn't have much pass-catching talent at his disposal and could increase his passing output now that the Giants have added more weaponry. Jones figures to be a low-end QB1 or high-end QB2 in 2023 fantasy drafts.

Fourth-round draft pick Daniel Bellinger showed promise in 2022 but missed four midseason games after an eye injury that included a fractured orbital bone. The 6-6, 255-pound Bellinger finished with 30 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games. The Giants' offseason signing of Darren Waller renders Bellinger undraftable in most fantasy leagues, but considering Waller's recent injury history, Bellinger could become a worthy waiver target at some point during the 2023 season.

Eric Gray first burst onto the college football scene at Tennessee in 2020, rushing for 758 yards and four TDs with 31 catches for 262 yards en route to a 26% dominator rating as a sophomore. After the season, Gray transferred to Oklahoma for his last two years of college ball. His numbers fell after he lost his starting job in 2021, but he regained RB1 duties the following year. And he made his final year count, posting a 26% dominator rating with Kennedy Brooks off to the NFL.

Gray finished the 2022 season third in the class in PFF receiving grade and fifth in PFF rushing grade. The 5-foot-9 and 207-pound rusher finished the year third in positive rushing EPA and fourth in boom rate (rushes generating an EPA of one-plus). And per Sports Info Solutions, Gray posted the highest missed tackle rate per 100 touches in the class.

It's also entirely possible that Gray could have been selected earlier by the Giants if they had more picks available to them. Big Blue didn't have any other picks after 73rd overall until they selected Gray with the 172nd pick. Considering Saquon Barkley has yet to sign his franchise tag, Gray is a player worth monitoring. New York's RB depth chart is barren behind Barkley. Could easily see this Giants coaching staff falling in love with Gray. He totaled 549 carries in college and never fumbled.