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The 2013 NFL season was nothing short of a disaster for the New York Giants, and particularly puzzling for their former star wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, who was unable to score a touchdown throughout the entire season for the first time in his career. Nicks played in 15 games for the G-Men, catching 56 balls for a respectable 896 yards but no scores and was seemingly not on the same page with coach Tom Coughlin or quarterback Eli Manning all season.
It was announced earlier that the Super Bowl winning Nicks signed with the Indianapolis Colts on a one-year contract worth a maximum of $5.5 million. The Colts were in desperate need of receiving help with the status of their long-time wide out Reggie Wayne still a bit up in the air after losing him to injury last season. Da’rick Rodgers and LaVon Brazill did their best filling in, but are not to be relied on to fill a receiver like Wayne’s shoes.
With Andrew Luck at quarterback you would think Nicks could get back to a solid fantasy option like he was in 2011, when he caught 76 passes for 1,192 yards and seven touchdowns, but the Colts will have to hope that the new scenery in Indianapolis will work to their advantage and a fresh start is exactly what he needs. Nicks became a borderline distraction for the Giants in 2013 and was even benched for a game for not practicing at all during a game-week and then declaring himself ready to play come Sunday.
If the stars align in Indy, you can expect Nicks to be used as their WR one or two, meaning he could catch at least 70 balls and push for his third 1,000 yard season and first since his aforementioned 2011 campaign. While he is no longer a WR1 option in fantasy football, I can see him producing enough to have a WR2 ceiling and he really has no excuse to perform at anything less than a WR3. However, attitude concerns have me fearing counting on him in fantasy until he proves he is on the right track in training camp. Proceed with caution and if you do draft him, low-ball his production until he shows you he is worth the WR2 spot.
Timothy Downs is a fantasy sports writer for www.RantSports.com. You can add him on Google or follow on Twitter @Tidow1212.
