Dynasty Impact: Shane Vereen joins the Giants

Paul Perdichizzi Posted On March 17, 2015

vereen

For the second consecutive year the New York Giants targeted a specific running back on the first day of free agency and worked quickly to get him signed. Last year the Giants signed Rashad Jennings and this past week they signed Shane Vereen, formerly of the New England Patriots to a three-year, $12.35 million dollar contract, with five million guaranteed. The Giants knew they needed a change of pace, third down running back, with pass receiving skills and identified Vereen as their target. The signing of Vereen has a big impact on the value of many Giants and potentially on a few under the radar names on the back end of the Patriots’ depth chart.

Shane Vereen, RB NYG

Over the last few years in New England, Vereen established himself as one of the elite pass receiving running backs in all of football. He was a big part of the Patriots offense this past season, catching 52 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 391 yards and two touchdowns. There were times where Vereen was one of focal points of the entire game plan, as we saw in the Super Bowl, where he caught 11 passes and helped New England defeat the Seattle Seahawks.

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The Giants targeted Vereen in free agency because they believe he fits their new system perfectly. While Ben McAdoo was successful bringing over his version of the west coast offense from Green Bay last year, there was one element missing – that missing piece was a change of pace back with speed and a pass receiving threat out of the backfield. The Giants base offense is usually three wide receivers, one tight end and one running back. When Vereen is on the field in that set, he will create major mismatches for the defense with his ability to run routes out of the backfield. With Odell Beckham and Rueben Randle on the outside, the possible return to health of Victor Cruz in the slot, pass receiving tight end Larry Donnell and now Vereen coming out of the backfield, the Giants will have weapons at every level of the field. The key for New York will be to keep the defenses guessing by making sure they run Vereen enough out of that set. At age 26, and with only 215 carries in his career, I believe there is some untapped potential in Vereen’s rushing ability the Giants may try to get out of him as well.

Vereen’s value in all fantasy remains unchanged in my opinion. He is a low end RB2 in PPR formats and a RB3 in standard leagues. I do believe Vereen will be much more consistent in New York than he was in New England. The Patriots were more unique than any other team in the league in which they created week to week specific game plans that varied dramatically based on their opponent. Therefore, some weeks Vereen was a key part of the offense and others had him strictly as a decoy or where he saw little playing time. In New York, Vereen will be a part of the game plan every week, but with the group of receivers in place and the emphasis on trying to establish a run game every week, I do not expect to see him have many games where he catches seven or eight passes in a week.

Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams, RBs NYG

Jennings signed last year to be the lead back for the Giants but was unable to stay healthy. He ended up playing 11 games, but was not even 100% for a few of those and was the backup running back in those games. He finished the season with 637 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 30 receptions and 225 receiving yards. The signing of Vereen really hurts Jennings value this upcoming season. While he was expected to share early down carries and goal line work with Williams, he was going to see most of the work on third downs and be the leading receiver out of the backfield. Now with Vereen in the fold, his role will be exclusively as an early down runner, sharing carries with Andre Williams. Jennings has little dynasty value moving forward as a 30-year old running back, with injury concerns and now firmly entrenched in a committee backfield. For this upcoming season, he went from being a low end RB2 in PPR to now a low end RB3 or worse depending on his goal line usage.

After being selected in the fourth round of the draft, Williams had a solid rookie season, rushing for 721 yards and seven touchdowns. Most of that production came after Jennings got injured, though. As he entered his second season, expectations were he would share early down carries with Jennings and be the primary goal line back. The signing of Vereen hurts his short term value, but does not change his long term outlook. He was never going to be on the field much during third downs as he struggles catching the ball and in pass protection. I still believe he will share early down carries and be the main goal line back, but with Jennings no longer needed on third downs, that is now in question. The Giants could decide to let Jennings handle more of the early down or goal line work, which would result in Williams having almost no value this upcoming season, even in standard formats. I believe this will be Jennings’ last year with the team and the Giants likely envision Williams developing into a starting running back on early downs, forming a strong future committee with Vereen. Right now I believe Williams’ long term dynasty value remains the same as a possible RB3 in PPR and a low end RB2 in standard formats.

Eli Manning, QB NYG

The addition of Vereen gives Manning another weapon to make their offense even more dangerous this upcoming season. He had a bounce back fantasy season last year and I expect him to improve even more in year two of the new system. Vereen will be the best receiver out of the backfield Manning has had since Tiki Barber left. With all the weapons the Giants now have, their offense should be primed for a very big year if the offensive line can give Manning enough time. He should provide low end QB1 value all year, with an upside for even better numbers. Manning would be an ideal trade target of all dynasty teams that need an upgrade at the quarterback position. I still believe Manning is being undervalued, so he probably can be had for the value of a QB2 but will produce at QB1 level.

Tyler Gaffney & James White, RBs NE

The departure of Vereen leaves a gaping hole in the Patriots depth chart. While LeGarrette Blount will still handle a lot of the carries between the tackles and near the goal line, the Patriots need to find a versatile, change of pace back who can be a receiving threat out of the backfield. Two options on their current roster are players who were rookies last season.

The first is White, who the Patriots drafted out of Wisconsin in the fourth round of the draft last year. He’s 5’10”, 205 pounds and has a build similar to Vereen. He really shined in the early part of training camp last year but struggled during preseason games and was buried on the depth chart all year, even after Stevan Ridley went down with an injury. He has good vision as a runner, was a good pass protector in college and showed reliable hands as a receiver, making him the favorite of the possible in house candidates to replace Vereen.

The other option to replace Vereen currently on the roster is Gaffney, who the Carolina Panthers drafted in the sixth round last year out of Stanford, but the Patriots claimed off waivers after he tore his lateral meniscus during training camp. Gaffney is a bigger running back at 6’0”, 220 pounds and is a strong physical runner with good balance. Even though he was not a major part of the passing game at Standford, he has good hands and can be used as a receiver. Overall though, he is not the ideal prototype to fill the third down role for the Patriots, as he is just lacking experience in running routes and in pass protection the Patriots will feel is necessary for their offense.

The most likely scenario for the Patriots is to find a veteran in free agency or on the trade market who can step right into the vacant role left by the departure of Vereen. One name left on the free agent market that would make a lot of sense is Pierre Thomas, especially after Reggie Bush wasn’t signed by New England. Two possible trade candidates if they were to become available would be Donald Brown or Danny Woodhead, both of the San Diego Chargers. Woodhead would be an ideal trade candidate as he is a former Patriot, who knows the system well and has had success in it. If the Patriots do not bring in a veteran, they can also look towards the draft, but I find it unlikely they will trust a rookie in his first season to protect Tom Brady and fill that important third down role for the team.

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