Getty Giants WR Golden Tate gets an unfavorable matchup against the Patriots in Week 6.
To put it blatantly, the New York Giants have been abysmal this year. While they may not be “Miami Dolphins bad”, they come in with the second-worst point differential in the league at -32.
The bad play through two games of the season was enough for head coach Pat Shurmur to pull the plug on their 15+ year starting quarterback Eli Manning. Shurmur has opted to put his faith and his future employment status on the right arm of rookie Daniel Jones, something New York fans seem pretty pumped about.
However, Jones will be behind the eight ball when he takes the field this Sunday, supported with a cast of unproven and under-talented players. The good news for Jones and Giants hopefuls worldwide is that help is on the way.
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When Will Tate Return, What Will He Bring
In many ways, Golden Tate was signed to be the New York Giants’ replacement to the previously traded Odell Beckham Jr. However, a questionable suspension by the NFL regarding fertility drugs pushed back the wideouts Giants debut by four games.
Tate will serve the third of what is a four-game suspension this coming weekend vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Which also happens to be Daniel Jones’ first career start. Unfortunately for Jones, he will not have Tate at his disposal this week.
Tate is set to return to game action on October 6th in Week 5 vs. the Minnesota Vikings. The receiver will be a much-welcomed boost to the Giants currently woeful passing game.
When not suspended, Tate is as reliable a pass-catcher as they come in the NFL. The wideout has played in at least 15 games in each of the past eight seasons. The 10-year veteran has also caught 90+ passes in four of his past five NFL seasons.
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Tate’s Fantasy Outlook Moving Forward
Tate is essentially a glorified third-down back. He’s a security blanket and a quarterback’s best friend. While having to deal with being part of a midseason trade at the deadline a season ago, Tate still finished the year as a top 30 wideout. From 2014-2017 Tate averages out as the 16th best wideout in PPR formats. Making him a locked-in WR2 for the majority of his career.
Operating within the Giants offense will certainly drive his value down a bit, but not as much as you may think. It’s certain that at the moment Daniel Jones is nowhere near on par with Russell Wilson, Carson Wentz, and even Matthew Stafford to that point. All of which Tate has caught passes from throughout his career. However, Jones is a smart quarterback, who the Giants will want to put in a position to succeed. That means drawing up easy plays for the QB, which in return means manufacturing touches for Tate.
Tate has immediate WR3 upside starting Week 5, and may very well bully his way into WR2 territory if Jones proves to be a viable passer over the next two weeks.
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