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In today’s installment of the Fantasy Football Player Analyzer, we take a look at second-year New York Giants WR Hakeem Nicks and his outlook for the 2010 season. Nicks was drafted by the Giants in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft and was immediately looked at as someone who theoretically would be the next go-to-guy in New York after Plaxico Burress was released after shooting himself in a nightclub. The Giants were looking for a playmaker to which Nicks certainly was while playing for North Carolina in college. Blessed with above average speed and athleticism, the only knock on Nicks was a propensity to get hurt which was seen both in college and last season during his rookie year. Despite the emergence of Steve Smith as a 100 catch superstar in 2009, Nicks did his part to garner notice with his 47 catches resulting in 790 yards and 6 TD’s. That was in 14 games as Nicks missed two due to injury but the man showed great burst and a knack for big plays. So with a solid rookie season under his belt, what can we expect from Nicks in 2010??? Lets find out.
The first issue to talk about with Nicks is the fact that he is a big play guy going all the way back to college. The fact he scored 6 TD’s for the Giants on only 47 catches and in only 14 games says a lot about his potential for even more success. Nicks flat out can run by or outmuscle defensive backs and once he is out in the open, can take it to the house easily. With a very solid Eli Manning at QB and with Steve Smith more of a underneath possession guy, Nicks will be counted on to be the big play guy who scores TD’s. Expect Nicks to easily top the 6 TD’s he put up last season and threaten the 10 TD mark if he stays healthy.
The health issue is the next topic to tackle here as its always a big one when evaluating players for your fantasy football roster. Nicks always seems to be nicked up (pardon the pun) with something and he was dealing with some issues in training camp already this year. Owners expecting a 16 game season from Nicks might be asking a bit too much but the allure of his big play potential make him hard to resist. Just be realistic with the fact that he may dissapoint you in the durable category which would certainly negatively impact his bottom line numbers.
Another problem for Nicks is the fact that the Giants have a decent crop of receivers to spread the ball to. As mentioned Steve Smith is without a doubt the go-to-guy in this offense and could once again catch 100 passes. That severely limits the amount of the remaining passes to go around and there is also the presence of Mario Manningham to deal with. Manningham was also a bit of a revelation last season as he put up a nice 2009 campaign similar to Nicks. Throw in Kevin Boss and Ahmad Bradshaw who has good hands out of the backfield and thus it could be difficult for Nicks to top 70 catches. So PPR owners you need to look away. Nicks is only for the standard league fantasy football owners.
All in all I think there are too many question marks regarding Hakeem Nicks for the 2010 football season. Yes I love the athleticism and knack for big plays but I dont like the injury bug and the presence of so many capable pass catchers. Overall I think Nicks is a standard league WR 3 and a PPR WR 4.
2010 Forecast: 65 catches 8 TD’s 970 yards