The Giants went thru what was touted as one of the best drafts for wide receivers and did not select one until after the 2020 draft. The Giants did not need to take a wide receiver in the draft. They have a good receiving corps. They do not have a “elite” receiver but they may have something better.
Draft Kings produced their receiver stats for 2019 and have one for the average fantasy points per game for each receiver. It assigns points for 10 Receiving Yards, Receptions, Receiving touchdowns, 100+ year receiving games and deducts for fumbles. It presents a good measure of the players. The top six receivers by fantasy points per game were Michael Thomas, Chris Godwin, Julio Jones, DeVante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Evans. A list of elite current NFL receivers.
When you sum up the fantasy points per game for each team’s top three receivers the Giants come out sixth in total points. What the Giants have that may be better than an “elite” receiver is they have three good receivers. While roughly 20 teams have two good receivers only four teams have three good receivers – Cardinals, Bills, Panthers and Giants. When you take the minimum of each teams top three receivers the Giants have the second highest minimum. The Giants as I said just lack the elite receiver and come in 20th when sorted by the max.
No team in the top seven teams sorted by the sum drafted a wide receiver on day one or two. The following top seven teams drafted a wide receiver on day three – Buffalo (Rd 4, 6), Tampa (Rd 5) and Detroit (Rd 5). Nine teams did not draft a wide receiver at all – Four in the top seven. Below the Giants in the sum totals the following teams did not draft a wide receiver – Falcons, Panthers, Chiefs, Packers Patriots and Titans.
Having three good receivers in place of an “elite” and then so-so receivers puts more stress on a defense. You are less likely to double team a specific receiver. You are uncertain who your best cover man should take.
Giant Receivers Statistics
In 2019 on 83 targets Shepard had a 1.2% drop percentage. That was sixth lowest in the league among wide receivers.
Shepard is one of only seven wide receivers who over the last four seasons had a catch Percent of 61%, a 6.5+ yards per target average and two plus receiving touchdowns each of the four years. The others are a who’s who of league recognized top receivers: Michael Thomas, Adam Thielen, Tyreek Hill, Larry Fitzgerald, Stefon Diggs and Davante Adams.
Shepard’s 2019 catch percentage of 68.7% was 20th in the league among wide receivers. It was his second highest of his four year career.
Shepard is one of only five wide receivers that over the last four seasons had 250+ touches and two or less fumbles.
Though he played only 10 games in 2019 Shepard had only two less targets than our top targeted receiver and had the highest catch percentage (68.7%) among the Giant wide receivers.
In his 2017 season Shepard was second among wide receivers in completions on contested catches for receivers with a minimum 20 contested catches.
Sterling Shepard is also a very good downfield blocker. He was awarded a game ball in December 2018 after the Redskins game for blocks on two Barkley runs of 78 and 53 yards. Here he sprints 35 yards and levels Josh Norman.
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Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate have been among the league’s most productive players out of the slot. Tate is sixth among all receivers with 2,070 yards out of the slot since 2016 and Shepard is eighth (2,051).
Golden Tate led the Giant wide receivers in yards after the catch per reception with 5.8 yards. That was eighth best among wide receivers in the league. YAC is one of Tate’s signature stats.
Darius Slayton has emerged as a viable deep threat. He led the Giants in yards before the catch/reception with 11.5 yards. That was the 14th highest in the league. Slayton led the Giant wide receivers in touchdowns but only had eight.
Team Statistics
The site footballoutsiders.com has wide receivers are ranked according to DYAR and DVOA. DYAR means a wide receiver with more total value. DVOA means a wide receiver with more value per play. Taking that data for teams that had three or more receivers with a minimum 50 passes that gives 17 teams including the Giants. When you add their top three ranked receivers DYAR or DVOA the Giants come in at ninth.
Last year the Giants were 12th in receiving plays or 20+ yards and eighth in 40+ yards.
What the Giants could use is depth at the receiver position. Due to injuries and suspension the Giants played zero games with Slayton, Tate, Shepard, Barkley, and Engram all in the lineup in 2019.
Here is the summary sheet of the teams receivers evaluated by Draft Kings Fantasy Points per Game.
There Are Also The Rookies To Consider
This evaluation is based on player’s 2019 performance. So teams that drafted potential starting receivers are not given credit for those players. The teams that have added potential starters via the 2020 draft are
| Team | Rookie | Current Good Receiver Count |
| Jets | Denzel Mims | 2 |
| Bengals | Tee Higgins | 2 |
| Colts | Michael Pittman | 1 |
| Broncos | Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler | 1 |
| Raiders | Henry Ruggs | 2 |
| Cowboys | CeeDee Lamb | 2 |
| Eagles | Jalen Reagor | 2 |
| Vikings | Justin Jefferson | 1 |
| 49ers | Brandon Aiyuk | 1 |
But these are rookies. Over the last five seasons there have been only twelve rookie receivers that averaged 50+ yards per game. Last season had the most with six of the twelve.
