When Eli Manning isn't dumping off to
Saquon Barkley he should be targeting Golden Tate.
The New York Football Giants shocked the NFL and Fantasy community
by trading stud wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns for
a pair of draft picks and safety Jabril Peppers. There were rumors
circling for months that OBJ was on the block for the right price,
and apparently to GM Dave Gettleman, the Browns made him an offer
that he could not pass up.
Not exactly a wide receiving corps that will cause sleepless
nights for opposing defensive coordinators.
To help fill the void, Gettleman signed free agent Golden Tate
to a 4-year, $37 million contract. Tate is a solid veteran receiver
with 611 receptions for 7,214 yards and 38 touchdowns in his eight-year
NFL career. Tate’s best season as a pro came in 2014 when
he posted 99 catches for 1,331 yards and four touchdowns for the
Detroit Lions.
At 5-10, and 197 pounds, Tate does not possess the prototypical
size to be an outside receiver in the NFL, but he makes up for
his lack of size and breakaway speed by being an exceptional route
runner out of the slot.
That brings us to the biggest question mark surrounding the Tate
signing. The Giants already had two excellent slot receivers in
Shepard and TE Evan Engram, so why did Gettleman sign another
undersized WR who has not fared well in the past working on the
outside? Tate played nearly 80% of his snaps in the slot over
the past two seasons in Detroit and hasn’t been an outside
receiver since his time in Seattle.
Considering Tate in much older than Shepard, I would anticipate
that the Giants intend on Sheppard playing more snaps as the X
receiver and Coleman as the flanker, with Tate in the slot.
Regardless of how it breaks down, Tate joins a passing game with
a ton of targets to disperse and an opportunity to be a viable
fantasy contributor as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3. OBJ saw
124 targets in 12 games last season, and the Giants had 309 total
targets to wide receivers in 2018.
One can assume that Saquon Barkley will continue to be the centerpiece
of the offense and Engram will also get his fair share of passes.
But it is well within reach for both Tate and Sheppard to reach
the century mark in targets, with Tate likely leading the team
as the new, high-priced veteran. I anticipate a respectable 90/1200/6
line for Tate with the G-men, making him an excellent mid-round
receiver in all formats.
