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Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry are the two best wide receivers out of the 2014 draft class.**
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JOHN SCHMEELK: Fiction: I will rate both Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans above Jarvis Landry since they can get down the field and make bigger plays more often than Landry. Landry is more of a possession receiver out of the slot, a role he excels at, but he can't do the things those two players do. Arguments can be made for Allen Robinson, Martavis Bryant, and Jordan Matthews but I would probably still put Landry equal to or above those three players. Beckham, clearly, is the best receiver from that draft.
DAN SALOMONE: Fact: Beckham is clearly at the top. No receiver has more touchdowns since the start of 2014, let alone just players from that draft class. I'm going to make the case, though, for Landry as No. 2. No second-year receivers have more receptions than Landry (162) and Beckham (169). Landry is also a complete player, who is able to provide a deep threat in both the run and passing games. He has 15 rushes for 107 yards this year, including a 22-yard score. Landry also produces on special teams with five kickoff returns of 40 yards or longer and scored on a 69-yard punt return this season. But this once again brings up the bigger question: how did LSU not win a title in their time there?
*LANCE MEDOW: Fiction: *The 2014 draft class is stacked with wide receivers, especially ones who made immediate impacts on their respective teams. Odell Beckham clearly tops the list based on his stats and the eye test. His record breaking rookie year alone solidified his place regardless of what he did for an encore. If the statement read 'the two most athletic' or the 'two most durable' it's an easy fact but, at this point, it's hard to say Landry is ahead of players like the Bills' Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans of the Bucs and even Carolina's Kelvin Benjamin, when healthy. You also can't overlook the Saints' Brandin Cooks and Allen Robinson of the Jaguars. Based on how he's used in the Dolphins offense, Landry is mainly a possession receiver, who runs most of his routes out of the slot. Watkins, Evans and Benjamin are fast outside vertical runners, who can post the big play in the blink of an eye. When it's all said and done, Beckham and Landry may have the two most successful careers out of this group, but based on the current sample size, Beckham has separated himself from the pack and after him it's really a choice of preference or style.
The Giants will rush for 100 yards on Sunday in Miami.
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JOHN SCHMEELK: ** Fiction: As bad as the Dolphins rush defense is (30th in the NFL), I'm at the point where the Giants need to prove they can run the ball before I predict they will. Tom Coughlin and Ben McAdoo have tried everything they possibly can to get the running game going, but nothing has worked. Getting the offensive line will help in that area as well. I think the Giants will commit to the run, get over 30 carries, but I don't think they get to a 100 yards unless they have one big run.
DAN SALOMONE: Fiction: They just have to show it first to flip the script. They have done so just two times this season: at home against Dallas and on the road in Tampa Bay. The Giants did win both of those meetings, so they'll try to be patient with the ground game once again. And this week's matchup is favorable with Miami allowing 134.8 rushing yards per game.
LANCE MEDOW: Fiction:In 12 games, the Giants have rushed for at least 100 yards twice. On paper, this is a great match-up for the running game to break out given the Dolphins rank 30th against the run (allowing 135 yds per game). However, two weeks ago, the Giants played a Redskins defense that also ranked 30th against the run and only managed 33 rushing yards. Regardless of where the opponent ranks, the Giants have struggled to pound the ball so until that trend ends, it's hard to argue this game will produce dramatically different results.
The Giants will record at least three sacks for the third time in four games.
JOHN SCHMEELK: Fact: No one has been sacked more than the 173 times Ryan Tannehill has been taken down since 2012. (16 more than 2nd place finisher Russell Wilson). This year the Dolphins have allowed 34 sacks, 8th most in the league. JPP has brought some energy to the Giants pass rush and I expect that to continue this week. Even if he isn't the one getting the sack he is creating space for other players.
DAN SALOMONE: Fact: As Jason Pierre-Paul said recently, it's not all about him. So it was a good sign that Robert Ayers Jr. and Cullen Jenkins broke back into the column last week. Ayers has three in the last three games, including two against the Jets. Jenkins also had his third of the year and first since Week 4. They're getting the ball rolling late in the season
LANCE MEDOW: Fact:My colleagues are already aware of this stat but I'm still going to throw it out again because it's the strongest argument in favor of the statement: since 2012, Ryan Tannehill has been sacked (173 times) more than any other quarterback in the NFL. To put that in perspective, the second quarterback on that list, Russell Wilson, has been sacked 16 less times. The Dolphins have already surrendered 34 sacks this season (8th most) and have had to deal with some injuries to their offensive line. Those numbers combined with the fact that the Giants pass rush has picked up in the last three games (6 sacks, just 9 in the 1st 9 games) bode very well for New York to pile up some sacks Monday night.
*Dwayne Harris is the franchise's best return specialist since Tom Coughlin took over in 2004. *
JOHN SCHMEELK: Fact: Harris' only real competition here is Domenik Hixon, but Hixon struggled to stay healthy and never returned both a kick and punt for a touchdown in the same season. Hixon averaged a fantastic 15 yards per punt return in 2009, higher than Harris, but I give Harris the nod due to the big plays.
DAN SALOMONE: Fact: With his 100-yard kickoff return in Week 7 and the 80-yard punt return last week, Harris became just the third player in Giants history with kickoff and punt return touchdowns in the same season and the first to do so since Jimmy Patton in 1955. Pro Football Hall of Famer Emlen Tunnell also accomplished the feat in 1951. That's elite company in any era.
LANCE MEDOW: Fact: Thanks to Dwayne Harris' production, we're dusting off the archives from the 1950s. That fact alone means he's accomplishing feats that no other return man, in the Coughlin era, has touched. Domenik Hixon is his biggest competition but, unfortunately, struggled to stay healthy. David Wilson provided a nice spark in his rookie year (2012) but, like Hixon, also had to deal with the injury bug. Outside of those two, a number of other running backs and wide receivers have seen time as return specialists but no one has had the same type of impact as Dwayne Harris, even in his limited sample size of 12 games.
