New York Giants 2019 season preview: QB decision looms

The New York Giants are ranked No. 31 in ESPN's preseason Football Power Index. Here's everything you need to know about them heading into the 2019 NFL season:

The big question: How are the Giants going to handle the QB situation?

Eli Manning is the unequivocal starter. There is no internal debate about that at this point. But rookie Daniel Jones' strong spring and summer has the clock ticking on Manning's tenure. The second the Giants stumble or Manning has a poor performance, the calls for Jones will get louder. Does coach Pat Shurmur make the change at the first sign of distress or, more likely, wait until the Giants' playoff dreams disappear before executing the highly anticipated move? Probably the latter. And how much will owner John Mara and GM Dave Gettleman be involved in the situation? Benching the most accomplished quarterback in franchise history in a sensitive subject. Probably plenty. --Jordan Raanan

Offseason in a nutshell

The Giants traded WROdell Beckham Jr. and DEOlivier Vernon. They allowed SLandon Collins to walk. They signed WRGolden Tate. They traded for OGKevin Zeitler and SJabrill Peppers. They drafted Jones in the first round, plus two defensive starters (DT Dexter Lawrence, CB Deandre Baker). That's an offseason. The overhaul Gettleman envisioned when he took over is pretty much complete. The Giants are younger on the defensive side and believe they have their quarterback of the future. --Raanan

Inside the Giants' schedule

Most important game: Week 2 against Bills. The Giants' opener in Dallas is a tough game; they might be overmatched. But they can't lose the following week in their home opener to Buffalo if they want to even pretend to be a contender. This game will dictate which direction the season goes. A loss here and the calls for Jones will really become strong, and probably won't relent until he's the starter.

Toughest stretch: Weeks 12-14 at Bears, vs. Packers, at Eagles. The Bears' defense is fierce once again. Green Bay will still haveAaron Rodgers, as long as he's healthy late in the season. And this might be the best, most talented Eagles team yet -- even better than the group that won the Super Bowl two seasons ago. This is where the Giants' season could fall apart, leading to the end of Manning's 16-year run as the starting quarterback.

Over or under 6.0 wins? Over. The schedule is a lot more favorable this year than last. The Giants face only one true top-tier quarterback (Tom Brady) over the first 12 weeks. They faced Deshaun Watson, Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan in a five-week stretch early last season. Getting to 7-9 this year against a softer schedule is hardly unreasonable as they lean heavily on Saquon Barkley, their running game and improved offensive line to take pressure off of their quarterback. -- Raanan

Schedule ranking: No. 28

This is the point where the schedules get particularly easy. All five of these schedules at the bottom of our rankings are more extreme in their weakness than any of the strongest schedules in the league. Take out Week 6 and the Giants would have the easiest schedule in the league. But oh, that's a doozy: a trip to Foxborough to play the Patriots on a Thursday night. Some other quirks about the Giants' schedule: They play both Cowboys games in the first half of the season but both Philadelphia games in December. And they don't play two straight road games all season. -- Football Outsiders | See the full 1-32 ranking

Breakout fantasy star: WR Sterling Shepard

Beckham heading to Cleveland sets up Shepard as the Giants' No. 1 wide receiver. The 2016 second-round pick saw a boost in targets, downfield looks and goal-line work when Beckham was out of action last season. Tate is also facing a four-game suspension and allergic to the end zone, Shepard is well-positioned for his first run at 1,000 receiving yards. The 25-year-old is a strong target for your WR3 slot, and he has upside for more. -- Mike Clay | More fantasy coverage

The view from Vegas

Super Bowl odds: 175-1 (opened 35-1)

Over/under: 5.5 (O -145/U +125)

Playoff odds: Yes +550, No -800

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook as of Sept. 2.

Most interesting player prop

Over or under 1,899.5 combined rushing and receiving yards for Barkley:

• Raanan: Over. Barkley had more than 2,000 scrimmage yards last year and the offense is centered on him even more this season. Barkley might not replicate the 121 targets from last year, but he should top the 261 rush attempts if he plays in all 16 games. Four hundred touches is hardly out of consideration, which makes 1,900 total yards a likelihood.


• Clay: Over. Barkley managed a league-high 2,028 scrimmage yards as a rookie and could conceivably play a larger role in 2019 with Beckham gone. There have been 19 occasions in NFL history in which a running back has reached 1,900 scrimmage yards in back-to-back seasons.

Bold prediction: Evan Engram tops 1,000 yards receiving

The Giants' passing game is going to revolve around the tight ends and Barkley, especially early in the season with Manning as the starter. That bodes well for Engram, who was second among all tight ends with 320 receiving yards over the final four weeks of last season when he was healthy. If he can remain healthy, Engram is going to be the Giants' big-play receiver with Beckham no longer on the roster. They're planning on him playing a massive role. That's why they've kept him in bubble wrap most of the summer. -- Raanan

Where the Giants landed in NFLRank

• No. 12: RB Saquon Barkley

Speed reads before the opener

• Raanan: Culture club: Giants buying what coach, GM are selling


• Raanan: Moving on from Eli Manning remains complicated for Giants


• ESPN.com: Rookie QB update


• Barnwell:What actually matters this NFL preseason


• Football Outsiders: Ranking all 32 NFL teams by their under-25 talent


• ESPN.com: Toughest running backs to tackle