Giants Wide Receivers Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook: Isaiah Hodgins, Jalin Hyatt, Parris Campbell, Sterling Shepard, Wan'Dale Robinson
The New York Giants come into the 2023 season looking to build off their playoff appearance last year. The Giants were a Wild Card team, upsetting the Minnesota Vikings before falling flat against the Philadelphia Eagles. With a number of key pieces from that team back, New York hopes to vie for another playoff spot.
Running back Saquon Barkley is the heart of the Giants’ offense, but the team also has a very deep stable of pass catchers. With so many bodies in that room, who might emerge as a valuable fantasy asset this season? Will the addition of tight end Darren Waller hurt the stock of some wideouts?
Our Week 1 projections have Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, and Jalin Hyatt ranked in the top 80 receivers, but Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Wan’Dale Robinson are also options for quarterback Daniel Jones. Let’s discuss how targets might be distributed and see which of these receivers are worth a start in Week 1 when the Giants battle the Dallas Cowboys.
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Isaiah Hodgins Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Hodgins is the highest-rated Giants’ receiver according to our projections, coming in 67th overall. He played in eight games for the Giants in 2022, recording 33 receptions on 42 targets for 351 yards and four touchdowns.
Hodgins managed at least two catches in each game he played in. He starred in the team’s two games against the Minnesota Vikings, tallying eight catches for 89 yards and a score in the regular season before going for eight catches, 105 yards and a score in the playoff matchup. He played in one game against the Cowboys, catching three passes for 31 yards.
Our projections have Hodgins at five targets, 3.1 catches, 34 yards and 0.2 touchdowns. He’s got a trust rating of 56.
Parris Campbell Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Campbell is the second-ranked Giants’ wideout, coming in 73rd. Campbell is in his first season with the Giants after a four-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts. His best season in Indy came in 2022, when he hauled in 63 passes for 623 yards and three scores on 91 targets.
It’s tough to say how newly acquired receivers might fare on new teams in their first games. Campbell played in just one preseason game, tallying three catches for 23 yards. He caught two of those passes from Jones.
Campbell is projected at five targets, 2.8 receptions, 31 yards and 0.2 touchdowns, with a trust rating of 56.
Jalin Hyatt Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Hyatt is the third-rated New York receiver at 77th overall. He was the third-round pick of the Giants in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Hyatt played in all three of the team’s preseason games, with the second game against the Carolina Panthers being his best showing. He caught four passes for 35 yards and a touchdown. Only one of the catches was on a pass thrown by Jones, so it remains to be seen how much the QB trusts the rookie wideout when the games matter.
Hyatt is projected at four targets, 2.3 catches, 28 yards and 0.2 touchdowns for Week 1.
Darius Slayton Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Slayton was not ranked in the top 78 receivers in our projections despite serving as the Giants’ leading wideout in 2022. Slayton caught 46 of the 71 passes thrown his way for 724 yards and two touchdowns.
One of Slayton’s most productive games in 2022 came against the Cowboys, when he caught three passes for 63 yards, with a long reception of 44.
While he’s never been able to replicate the eight-touchdown season he produced as a rookie, he’s been a fairly consistent weapon for Jones in the passing game.
He's projected for 2.4 receptions, 36.8 yards and 0.2 touchdowns in Week 1.
Sterling Shepard Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Shepard looked to be on his way to a highly productive 2022 season before tearing his ACL in Week 3. He tallied 13 receptions, 154 yards and one touchdown on 24 targets before missing the rest of the season.
Shepard’s career has been riddled with injuries, but when he’s been on the field, he’s been productive. It remains to be seen how many snaps and looks per game the Giants are willing to give him, but he’s right up there with any receiver on the team in terms of having Jones’ trust. He led the team in targets in Weeks 2 and 3 last season.
He's projected at 1.7 receptions, 16.8 yards and 0.1 touchdowns in the opening week.
Wan’Dale Robinson Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Robinson, a second-round pick of the Giants in the 2022 NFL Draft, tallied 23 receptions on 31 targets in his opening season. He totaled 227 yards and one touchdown, accomplishing those numbers in six games.
Robinson did flash some promise in games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions last year. He had six grabs on eight targets against Jacksonville, tallying 50 receiving yards. He caught nine of his 13 targets for 100 yards against the Lions, but tore his ACL in that contest.
He recently returned to practice, showing he’s ready to go for the upcoming season.
He's projected at 3.58 receptions, 35.53 yards and 0.16 touchdowns in Week 1.
Who Do I Start Week 1?
While I wouldn’t say the Giants have any true stars in their receiver room, they certainly have a solid group of players that could all turn into assets for the team’s offense. That’s not what you want to hear if you drafted any of their players this year.
For the time being, I’m trying to avoid starting any of the team’s receivers, at least until some sort of pattern of use is available. Any one of these guys could help your fantasy team on a given week, it’s just a toss-up on who that might be. I’m waiting a couple of weeks and seeing who the most consistent performer is of the bunch before feeling confident enough to toss them in my lineups. I think Darren Waller is going to be heavily involved in the passing game, and then Jones will distribute the other looks fairly evenly between all the team’s receivers. I also think Saquon Barkley's workload could increase from a season ago.
If I was being forced to pick any of the team’s six wideouts for my starting lineup, I’m leaning toward Slayton at this point, partly due to his history with Jones, but mainly because he doesn’t have any kind of injury concern going into the season.
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