Fantasy Football: Should you start Eli Manning?

By Luis Tirado Jr. | Sep 7, 2015

When it comes to fantasy football, owners everywhere are hard at work finalizing their lineups and doing their very best to field a top team in their respective leagues. The most important position on any fantasy football team is definitely at quarterback. With a plethora of options to go with, should owners ever consider starting Eli Manning at any point this upcoming fantasy season?

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Manning is coming off an incredible season last year that might entice owners to draft him due to his potential to do even better.

In 2014, Manning had one of the best seasons of his career with the New York Giants. He totaled 4,410 passing yards for 30 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and an overall passer rating of 92.1.

Of course Manning had the emergence of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. that turned the Giants’ offense into one to watch daily despite their 6-10 record because of how great their connection was. With a healthy Victor Cruz coming back and paired up with Beckham, Manning should be able to enjoy dissecting opposing defenses with ease and precision.

Fantasy owners should expect another strong season by Manning which will translate into a nice steady flow of points on a weekly basis. At best, Manning is a solid QB2 behind your QB1 depending on the matchups that he is favored in to truly have a big game.

Manning still has a strong arm and with the second-year installment of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s West Coast offense, expect to see the Giants put up some strong passing statistics all season long in 2015. Considering the Giants also got a dual-threat option at running back in Shane Vereen, Manning will more than likely have his best season yet if everything comes together as planned.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, one thing that might make fantasy owners weary on starting him based on the opposing defenses he’ll be facing is the fact that Manning has a crazy case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One week, Manning could be on a frenzy and drop a pair of touchdowns in the end-zone. Other times, Manning could be a turnover machine and throw those patented head-scratching interceptions.

Another major consideration to not start him is the reality that both Beckham and Cruz are still technically big question marks heading into 2015. Will they stay healthy all season long? Will Cruz return to form or show a decline due to his recovery from the devastating knee injury of last season? Will Beckham hit the infamous sophomore season jinx? These are all factors that could make Manning a low-tier fantasy football quarterback in the grand scheme of things.

Aug 22, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) looks to pass during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Overall, Manning is still a capable option as a fantasy quarterback but before owners start throwing him into their lineups expecting major results consistently, make sure to do proper research on the defenses he’ll be facing. Otherwise, you will regret the day you hit the draft button on him since sometimes Manning can be quite predictable with defenses able to sift plays out and wreak havoc against anything he or the Giants try to execute.

Next: Fantasy Football 2015: Should you start Andy Dalton?

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