Ian Hartitz breaks down everything you need to know about the New York Giants ahead of the 2025 fantasy football season.

2024 was supposed to be a step back in the right direction for the New York Football Giants after 2023 ended with a disappointing, injury-riddled 6-11 campaign following their first playoff win since 2011.

Instead … yikes.

Giants 2025 Team Preview 

There were plenty of stories to be told about this offense, few of them good.

New York Giants in 2024:

  • Points per game: 15.3 (31st)
  • EPA per dropback: -0.07 (31st)
  • EPA per rush: -0.12 (21st)
  • Points per game against: 24.4 (21st)

The seats of head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen are accordingly hotter than ever ahead of a season that needs to produce results, or else.

Today's goal: Answering key (mostly fantasy-related) questions about the new-look Giants ahead of their make-or-break 2025 season.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Question 1: Can 36-year-old Russell Wilson still be a factor in fantasy?

It's not like Russ got back to partying like it's 2015 again with the Steelers, but it was at least a step back in the right direction.

 

 

However, the one thing that hasn't gone out of style just yet: Wilson's patented moon ball! Overall, nobody had a higher passer rating (126.3) or averaged more yards per attempt (16.1) on passes thrown at least 20 yards downfield in 2024 (including playoffs).

Turning 37 next November, it's far more likely than not that Wilson has already played his best football. Still, it'd be difficult to name more than 20-25 better players at the position; at a minimum the artist known as DangeRuss should be able to provide enough adequate play to keep gunslinger Jameis Winston and first-rounder Jaxson Dart on the bench for however long coach Daboll desires.

Of course, a move to Dart would be best in fantasy land considering the Ole Miss product's rather awesome dual-threat ability. While NFL defenses will certainly make life more difficult for a QB without Jalen Milroe-esque athleticism, Dart deserves a lot of credit for averaging 499 yards and 4 TDs on the ground during his three seasons with the Rebels—and that's including yardage lost from sacks!

Russell Wilson Fantasy Football 2025 Outlook

The bar is certainly low, but Russ has the potential to supply the best QB play that New York has seen in a minute. This seems unlikely to provide too many fireworks in fantasy land considering Wilson's lack of rushing upside at this point of his career and middling offensive environment (28th-ranked supporting cast last year), but he should at least give this offense a chance to rank better than 30th in scoring … like they've done in four of the last five years. Here's to hoping Dart and/or Winston get a chance to start at some point; both would be superior fantasy options thanks to their respective rushing and DGAF skillsets.

Is this really Tyrone Tracy's backfield?

Maybe! It certainly was down the stretch of 2024, as Tracy played at least 60% of the offense's snaps in each of the team's final six games.

Of course, things weren't always great as the former fifth-round pick was seemingly benched on two occasions following lost fumbles, something he unfortunately made a habit of all season long. Overall, Tracy (12) joined Breece Hall (15) as the only RBs with more than 10 combined fumbles and drops last season.

As a wise man once said: Ball security is job security, and it's accordingly difficult to be too certain that Tracy has an overly long leash entering 2025–particularly after the team used a fourth-round pick on human battering ram Cam Skattebo.

Fantasy Life's Thor Nystrom comped Skattebo to David Montgomery and noted the following about him before the draft:

“Skattebo has a classic bowling-ball build, short and dense. He runs low to the ground, with one of the surest centers of gravity of this running back class. Skattebo is an inflatable pop-up punching bag in how much punishment he can take while keeping his feet … He has quick feet and can change directions suddenly with a hard cut. You also can’t get lower than him when he goes into his battering-ram routine and loads up behind his shoulder pads. Skattebo is a tackle-breaking machine who finished No. 2 in the FBS behind Jeanty last year in forced missed tackles … Skattebo is a value-add in the passing game due to his receiving utility. Arizona State gave Skattebo bell cow work as a runner, and Skattebo also finished No. 2 on the team in receptions. He led this RB class with 1.92 YPRR.”

The RB7 in Dwain McFarland's Rookie RB Super Model, Skattebo does have the sort of theoretical three-down skillset to run away with this job if given the opportunity. Of course, the incoming rookie also isn't immune to ball-security concerns, and this starting job isn't exactly the sort of thing that fantasy dreams are made of: This is PFF's reigning 23rd-ranked offensive line and Giants RBs rank just 26th in receiving yards over the last three seasons under Daboll.

2025 Fantasy Football Outlook for Tyrone Tracy and Cam Skattebo

On the one hand, the uncertainty surrounding this pecking order makes it tough to pump any of the involved RBs too high up the ranks. On the other hand, this is reflected in their depressed ADPs, and accordingly makes both Tracy and Skattebo rather awesome zero-RB targets who have the potential to really boom up the ranks once more clarity emerges. That's what drafting a player closer to their floor than ceiling is all about!

How high is too high to draft Malik Nabers in fantasy land?

It honestly wouldn't be overly surprising if Nabers finishes as THE WR1 in fantasy this season. After all, the 2024 NFL Draft's sixth overall pick is fresh off averaging a whopping 18.2 PPR points per game—the third most by a rookie in NFL history behind only Odell Beckham Jr. (24.6, lol) and Randy Moss (19.2).

Nabers displayed a ridiculous blend of route-running, YAC goodness, contested-catch ability, and pure alpha-ness on his way to becoming just the seventh rookie to average at least 80 receiving yards per game in the Super Bowl era.

Fantasy Life Projections have Nabers earning a league-high 159 targets ahead of next season. The rising second-year talent still might not have the world's best QB situation, but it certainly looks improved upon what he had to deal with last year, making him a shoo-in as a first-round pick in non-SUPERFLEX leagues of all shapes and sizes.

Elsewhere …

  • I grew angry watching every reception that Wan'Dale Robinson hauled in last year. It's like every target thrown his way is an attempt to score a TD from the 3-yard line, but the problem is that it's actually 3rd and 10 from midfield. Now, we can't ignore someone fresh off catching 93 (!) of 140 targets (!!); just realize there have been 270 instances of a wide receiver catching at least 90 passes in a season in NFL history, and 2024 Wan'Dale is the only one to average under 50 receiving yards per game … with 41.1.
  • Darius Slayton might be a body-catcher, but the man does know how to win deep. It's easy to picture him running underneath some b-e-a-utiful moon balls from Mr. Wilson, although there's a reason why he's averaged just 74 targets during the last three seasons, and it's tough to see an increased role with Nabers and Robinson back. Still, the Giants gave Slayton a three-year, $36 million contract for a reason, and accordingly he's been a fun LATE-round dart in best ball drafts where managers don't have to worry about nailing the specific week that he hauls in a bomb–I believe Slayton is one of just four WRs priced outside of the top 150 overall picks making $10M-plus per season.

2025 Fantasy Outlook for Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson

I wouldn't disagree with anyone who ranks Nabers as a top-5 WR ahead of 2025; he's got all the talent in the world and possesses arguably the highest target ceiling in the league. Meanwhile, I question if Robinson will come close to his previous target mark with more downfield-oriented QBs under center, making Slayton my preferred secondary option at cost. Even then, he's a best ball play only inside an offense not exactly expected to rewrite pass-game record books.

Is Theo Johnson a late-round TE dart worth throwing in fantasy?

Johnson's rookie campaign was cut short by a Lisfranc injury. While the rising second-year talent has been cleared to run, the injury is certainly concerning for his chances of building on a Year 1 that resulted in only 27.6 yards per game.

That said: Johnson is a FREAK athlete who helped keep Tyler Warren on the bench during their time together at Penn State. Daboll and Co. thought enough of the 2024 fourth-round pick to play him on over 70% of the offense's snaps in all 12 of his games last season. This came despite Daniel Bellinger and Chris Manhertz being healthy, and the only added competition is seventh-rounder Thomas Fidone.

Now, Fidone has plenty of truthers out there and could perhaps be a late-round gem of sorts—it's not like the Giants used that high of draft capital on Johnson either—but it's also objectively a win for the rising second-year talent that this was the only meaningful competition added throughout the entire offseason.

2025 Fantasy Outlook for Theo Johnson

Virtually free in fantasy drafts of all shapes and sizes, guys like Theo, Juwan Johnson, and Chigoziem Okonkwo are dirt-cheap backup options to ideally pair with a more established TE in fantasy land. It's probably not wise to expect too big of results—Giants TEs rank dead last in targets over the last three seasons—but virtually free plus athletes with the potential to handle full-time roles aren't exactly easy to find at the position.

Have the Giants invested more in their defensive line than any team in the league?

They are up there! Just four teams currently have north of $80 million devoted to their interior defensive linemen and EDGE defenders ahead of 2025 (per Over The Cap):

  • Steelers ($88.6 million)
  • Raiders ($87.7 million)
  • Giants ($86.9 million)
  • Colts ($81.5 million)

Note that this doesn't even include No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter yet! While this Giants offense still leaves quite a bit to be desired, don't be surprised if the G-Men wreak all sorts of havoc at the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball.

Giants DST Fantasy Football Outlook for 2025

The Giants should have one of the best pass rushes in the league headlined by Carter, Brian Burns, and Dexter Lawrence; this DST has the potential to surprise in fantasy should the offense manage to avoid putting them in too many bad positions.

NEW YORK GIANTS PREDICTION FOR 2025

Vegas isn't expecting much from this group in 2025: The Giants join the Titans, Jets, and Browns as the only teams with a lowly 5.5 win total.

I need to be careful about being too optimistic about every squad, but as was the case with the other NFC East teams: This win total simply feels too low! Seeing this squad reach 8 wins would be surprising, but the defensive line looks good enough to win a few games on ITS own, while Russ and Nabers should provide enough of a spark to hopefully take this offense from "horrible" to “bad.”

As for my bold fantasy prediction: I will go with Slayton surprising and turning in a borderline WR3 finish with over 900 yards and 7 scores on the season.