Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups: Mario Manningham Finally Worth a Roster Spot

Welcome to my fantasy roster, Mario Manningham.

After teasing fantasy owners for seemingly forever, finally the New York Giants receiver is worth picking up.

On Sunday he had six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown on nine targets from Eli Manning. He just missed another TD grab as well. For the season he now has 290 yards and one touchdown.

His production is steadily improving after dealing with a minor injury earlier in the season and also has the benefit of playing behind the oft-injured Hakeem Nicks.

Anybody that has owned Nicks in the past two years is well aware of how fragile Nicks’ legs can be. He left Sunday’s game and is going to be questionable in Week 9.

If he can’t go, expect the G-Men to run a lot of two receiver sets with Manningham and Victor Cruz as his main targets.

If Manningham is already getting nine passes his way with Nicks in the lineup, he is going to be getting a ton of looks without him. He is a potential top-20 player in his situation.

Even if Nicks is OK to play, clearly Manning is finally trusting Manningham around the red zone.

The other tantalizing aspect is the brutal schedule coming up for the Giants. New York is going to have its hands full and the pass-happy team is going to be relying on it even more against the likes of the Patriots, Packers, Saints and Cowboys—all teams that have horrendous pass defenses.

The fourth-year pro is on the cusp of the breakout season we were all waiting for, and now it’s time for you as a fantasy owner to take advantage.