Rueben Randle: Fantasy Owners Must Start Giants Rookie with Hakeem Nicks out

Hakeem Nicks has been ruled out of the New York Giants' Thursday night game with the Carolina Panthers, per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. That will thrust rookie Rueben Randle into the starting role, and fantasy football owners should take notice.

I wouldn't expect Randle to duplicate Nicks' 10-catch, 199 yard performance from Sunday, but he's a solid bet to put up at least decent fantasy numbers. The Giants will also be without WR Domenik Hixon, per Dan Benton of Giants101.com.

His absence should create even more opportunities for the rookie out of LSU.

Randle is 6'3", 210 pounds, and he shined during the preseason. He had five receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown in four games. He has yet to catch a pass in either of the regular season games, but that should surely change Thursday night.

The Giants have been throwing the ball a ton. Eli Manning threw for 510 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's come-from-behind win. He had 213 yards, a touchdown pass and 32 attempts in Week 1.

While Randle is sure to be behind Victor Cruz in the pecking order, he could do damage taking some of the targets that would normally go to Nicks. Manning will need to spread the ball around to different receivers. Cruz is best suited going downfield, so the targets in the intermediate areas should be there for the taking.

Ramses Barden will also be looked at to step up as the Giants' receiving corp is depleted, but he may not be as easy to acquire.

Randle has the size and the hands to perform well. With this rash of injuries he should now have the opportunity as well.

If you have Randle on your team, or if you have Nicks and you need a replacement, grabbing the rookie out of the free-agent pool isn't a bad idea.

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