If Eli Manning has anything left to give, the Giants could get fun in 2018. This offense has no shortage of weapons. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

You might be wondering how a three-win team that finished next-to-last in the NFL in scoring last year could possibly be slotted seventh in any sort of preseason power ranking. It’s a reasonable question/complaint. The Giants were a comedy last season. Eli Manning averaged just 6.1 yards per pass attempt, the lowest rate he’s posted since his rookie year. New York’s ground game averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and 96.8 per game. We can’t say Ben McAdoo didn’t earn his December firing.

Of course we should note that the Giants were without Odell Beckham for all but four games in 2017. This team addressed its offensive line in the offseason in a substantial way, adding tackle Nate Solder via free agency and mauling guard Will Hernandez in the draft. New York also used the draft’s second overall pick to select Saquon Barkley, one of the most gifted and versatile rushing prospects in recent memory. Without question, things are looking up for this offense.

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We can debate whether a franchise with 37-year-old Eli at QB should have actually taken a running back with a premium pick, but that’s what they did. Barkley is a massive talent. The Giants have a chance to be fun. If you’re an inebriated irrational optimistic fan of this team, you can probably squint and see a path to a division title — neither Washington or Dallas has obviously improved, and the Eagles are dealing with a zillion injuries.

As for New York’s placement in this silly fantasy index, let’s just take a quick look at Yahoo ADPs. The Giants are one of two teams that have a pair of players who are consistently selected within the first round in 10-team drafts. Barkley is generally the seventh player off the board and Beckham is ninth. This team also gives us the No. 5 tight end in terms of positional ADP. It’s really impossible to say this squad isn’t a fantasy power, even if it’s coming off a dreadful, forgettable, no-good season.

Are we really drafting Saquon as an early first rounder?

Without hesitation, yes. Barkley was unrivaled among the running backs in this year’s draft class. He was ridiculous last year, gaining 1903 scrimmage yards on 271 touches, averaging 5.9 yards per carry and 11.7 per catch. Barkley is a thrilling runner, he caught 54 passes last season, he excels in pass protection and he destroyed the pre-draft combine (4.4 speed, 41-inch vertical). He was a monster in big games, rivalry games, bowl games, cupcake games … pretty much all games, with only a few exceptions. You should want him. After the top-four running backs are off the board in the first round of your draft, he’s worth considering with the fifth pick. He’s terrific. Barkley has dealt with a hamstring issue recently, but he just returned to individual practice work.

If you somehow haven’t yet seen Barkley’s highlights, here’s a look at his first NFL carry…

And for those who need a reminder of his mutant-level collegiate performance, check last year’s Iowa game. It was arguably the best performance of his Nittany Lions career, although the 2017 Rose Bowl against USC is a contender, too.

Saquon is great, is what we’re saying. Draft with full confidence. It’s not at all unusual for a first-year running back to deliver an upper-tier season; three of last year’s top-eight fantasy backs were rookies. It happens.

Wayne Gallman and Jonathan Stewart are battling for backup duties in New York. Gallman showed a little something last season, gaining 4.3 YPC and catching 34 balls. But neither he or J-Stew will enter the season as more than a handcuff.

Eli Manning, sketchy quarterback with top-shelf receivers

Manning’s consensus fantasy rank(QB22) is not at all congruent with our ranks on his primary receivers. If Beckham is going to finish as WR3, Sterling Shepard as WR41, Evan Engram as TE5 and Barkley as RB5 (thanks in part to his pass-catching aptitude), then there’s almost no way Eli will finish outside the top-20 fantasy quarterbacks. And yet, well … it feels wrong to rank the guy anywhere near starting-status at this stage of his career. He was a rough watch last year, and the season before. And for extended periods throughout his career, really, unless he’s winning Super Bowls. Weird player. But he’s the guy who gets to lob passes to Odell, so he remains on the fantasy radar, at least as a bye-week seat-filler.