Full Stat Predictions for New York Giants' Top Offensive, Defensive Starters
Statistics are what make sports eternally interesting. In football, a losing team can still field the NFL's leading rusher; a player with no shot to make the playoffs can lead the league in sacks. There's never a good reason not to turn on a game, for you never know when the next statistical record will be set.
Predicting statistics can be tricky, though. Injuries occur, replacements take hold, and come fall, you have an entirely different team than the one you had in in the summer. Giants fans are far too familiar with this dilemma.
But if the Giants are struck with luck in 2015 and the team stays healthy, it's not difficult to draw up some stats for New York's top producers. We'll predict the stats you can expect to see this season from quarterback Eli Manning, as well as the team's top three receivers, rushers and defenders.
Passing: Eli Manning, QB
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| Comp. | Att. | Comp. % | Yards | Yards/Att. | TD | INT |
| 400 | 600 | 66.7 | 4,500 | 7.5 | 30 | 10 |
Quarterback Eli Manning could blossom in his second season under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. Manning is confident in himself after setting career-high figures—completions (379), attempts (601), percentage (63.1), touchdown-to-interception ratio (2:1)—in Year 1 of his pairing with McAdoo.
"I feel comfortable," Manning said earlier this offseason, per Giants.com. "I feel really good right now and excited about what we can do with this offense."
Playing in a quick-pass offense, it's easy to see how Manning's stats could swell even further in 2015. Last offseason, before McAdoo's offense made its debut in New York, Danny Langsdorf, the Giants quarterbacks coach at the time, set a goal for Manning to complete 70 percent of his passes. Although Manning fell well short of that mark and Langsdorf has since signed on as offensive coordinator with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, there is no indication the bar has been lowered.
Manning's arm is reportedly stronger than it was last season, per Newsday, so hitting the 30-touchdown mark for the third time at 34 years old is not out of the question. So long as he can avoid an outing like his five-pick game versus the San Francisco 49ers in Week 11 of last season, Manning can also throw as few as 10 interceptions on the year.
Receiving: Odell Beckham Jr., WR
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| Rec. | Yards | Yards/Rec. | TD |
| 100 | 1,300 | 13.0 | 10 |
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will be a marked man, to say the least, in his second season. After sweeping the NFL's full attention as a rookie, all eyes are on him to step up again as a sophomore.
Beckham was the Giants' most targeted receiver last season, despite missing the first four games. Quarterback Eli Manning threw in his direction 130 times through 12 games, and Beckham completed the catch 91 times. If Beckham is healthy for all 16 games and double-teams are ineffective, as he predicted to NJ.com, there's no reason why he can't reach 100 catches in 2015.
In terms of yardage and touchdowns, Beckham may trail off a tad just because his first-year figures—14.3 yards per reception, 12 touchdowns—will be so difficult to replicate. He'll still be good for the occasional explosive play, as well as his every-down consistency.
Receiving: Rueben Randle, WR
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| Rec. | Yards | Yards/Rec. | TD |
| 70 | 1,000 | 14.3 | 7 |
The receiver who's likely to benefit the most from the additional attention on Odell Beckham Jr. is Rueben Randle. Late last season, when teams started gearing their defenses toward slowing OBJ, Randle showcased shades of the reliable secondary option New York needs him to be. In the final two games, he averaged six catches for 145 yards.
Randle approached 1,000 yards in 2014, falling just 62 yards shy of the milestone. He's a safe bet to reach it this season because he's likely to be on the field a lot. Randle has played all 16 games each of his three NFL seasons, proving himself as a big, durable receiver at 6'2" and 208 pounds.
Now that Randle has established his presence on the outside, Victor Cruz told Giants.com that he sees an "exponentially" more comfortable teammate in the wide receiver corps. As a player who struggled with mental miscues early in his career, comfort in the offense could finally liberate Randle, allowing him to make more explosive plays during a contract year.
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Receiving: Victor Cruz, WR
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| Rec. | Yards | Yards/Rec. | TD |
| 80 | 800 | 10.0 | 5 |
Receiver Victor Cruz will do some tough work for the Giants in the slot, but don't expect the inflated yardage figures of the past in his first year back from a serious knee injury. When the Giants kick off the season against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 13, Cruz will only be 11 months removed from the original injury. He could be tentative, lacking a little pop upon his return.
Cruz's rehabilitation has gotten in the way of pivotal practice reps with Manning. With both Beckham and Randle on the rise, the squeeze is now on Cruz to find a way to contribute. Still, as long as he's on the field, five years of chemistry with quarterback Eli Manning isn't going to evaporate into thin air. He'll still be a favorite target, and his reliable hands are sure to come in handy on several third-down conversions.
Cruz said recently that this rehab will either make him or break him, according to Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. He may be right, but rushing back and expecting old results is a losing formula. It could take all season for Cruz to regain his previous form, considering the severity of a torn patellar tendon.
Rushing: Rashad Jennings, RB
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| Att. | Yards | Yards/Att. | TD |
| 200 | 800 | 4.0 | 4 |
Rashad Jennings will lead the Giants running backs, but he won't qualify as a workhorse. A 30-year-old with six years of NFL experience, Jennings has not proven he can handle more than 200 carries and stay healthy. Last season, he carried the ball a career-high 167 times and was sidelined for five games.
One of New York's biggest challenges in 2015 will be to preserve Jennings' body. He offers a valuable skill set at 6'1" and 231 pounds with the ideal blend of running, catching and blocking ability. But the Giants cannot afford to overemploy his services, as his backups are slightly less suited for the starting role.
With a restricted workload and a shaky offensive line, Jennings is unlikely to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards on the season. That's acceptable, since the Giants are likely to rely on a stable of running backs. With so much diversity in the backfield, it would be a disservice to make one player the bell cow.
Rushing: Andre Williams, RB
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| Att. | Yards | Yards/Att. | TD |
| 120 | 450 | 3.3 | 8 |
Andre Williams will find work as the Giants' short-yardage back. A 5'11", 230-pound bulldozer of a ball-carrier, Williams is built for picking up that precious yard to get into the end zone or to pick up a fresh set of downs.
If New York succeeds in keeping Rashad Jennings healthy, however, Williams will get far less work as the team's starter than he did as a rookie. Last season, with Jennings injured, he started seven games and racked up over 700 yards. He's unlikely to enjoy that type of production unless he's thrown into the starting role again in 2015.
While his attempts and yardage may both sink in his second NFL season, Williams is still the most likely candidate to lead the team in rushing touchdowns. Also, a step back this year is not yet an indictment of his future production; further development in the finer aspects of the position could allow Williams to one day take over as the team's featured back.
Receiving/Rushing: Shane Vereen, RB
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| Rush Att. | Rush Yards | Rush TD | Rec. | Rec. Yards | Rec. TD |
| 100 | 550 | 3 | 50 | 450 | 3 |
Shane Vereen will be a dynamic dual-threat running back who could produce up to 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the Giants in 2015. He joins New York this season from the New England Patriots, where the former second-round selection was more productive as a pass-catcher (1,023 yards) than he was as a ball-carrier (907 yards).
Vereen is a quarterback's dream and a linebacker's nightmare. Nimble and well-rounded at 5'10" and 205 pounds, his efforts will help keep plenty of New York's drives alive. But ESPN's Dan Graziano believes that in Vereen, the Giants may have signed more than just a third-down back in free agency.
Citing Pro Football Focus metrics, Nick Powell of NJ Advance Media wrote that Andre Williams' rookie season was "worse than it looked." It's possible Vereen sees more snaps than Williams this year, and it's very likely that he becomes the team's starter should Rashad Jennings need a reliever.
Defense: Jason Pierre-Paul, DE
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| Tackles | Sacks | Forced Fumbles | Pass Defenses |
| 80 | 14.0 | 4 | 8 |
Moving over to the defensive side of the ball, end Jason Pierre-Paul will probably be the team's most disruptive and productive player. He should be motivated to earn a new contract, as he's currently in line to play this season under the franchise tag (one year, $14.78 million).
Pierre-Paul came close to rediscovering his Super Bowl form at the end of last season; nine of his 12.5 sacks came in the final five games of the season. If he's a bit more consistent as a pass-rusher from start to finish in 2015, he can certainly approach his 2011 sack total of 16.5.
Even if Pierre-Paul fails to replicate his career-high sack figures, he's still a virtual lock to lead all defensive linemen in tackles since he hardly ever comes off the field and plays the run so well. JPP's back and shoulder injuries are in the distant past after starting all 16 games last season—a bright future could still lie ahead.
Defense: Jon Beason, MLB
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| Tackles | Sacks | INT | Forced Fumbles |
| 100 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 |
It's impossible to predict statistical production for Jon Beason with any degree of confidence since he's injured so often, but there's reason to believe he'll have a booming impact if healthy in 2015. At middle linebacker, he's assuming a field general role for new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who was tremendously successful during his first stint with the Giants.
From 2007-2008, Spagnuolo molded Antonio Pierce into the ideal "Mike" linebacker for his scheme. Pierce averaged about 100 tackles in his two seasons under Spagnuolo and was known to come up with a big stop when New York needed it most. Now, it's Beason's turn to fill that role, which is so essential to a functioning 4-3 defense.
Beason would have eclipsed 100 tackles in 2013 had the Giants traded for him earlier. There's really no question about the former first-round selection's athletic ability making a difference on defense, but a large part of quality leadership is being accountable and on the field.
Defense: Landon Collins, SS
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| Tackles | INT | Pass Defenses | Forced Fumbles |
| 75 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
Rookie safety Landon Collins will make an immediate impact in the secondary. The Giants traded up to select him with the first pick in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft, knowing how badly they needed someone to step in and start back there right away.
Collins' first season will feature more than its fair share of spectacle, but it won't be without its headaches. He'll break up some passes and blow some coverages; he'll take some game-changing risks and get burned on some fakes. For at least the first season, Giants fans may be forced to take the fantastic with the frustrating when it comes to Collins' play.
Overall, Collins will be a net positive for the defense. His instincts and physicality alone could be enough to create quite a few turnovers. His athleticism and willingness to lead will make him a player who sticks his nose in every play.
Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants at Bleacher Report.
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