Player Profile: Mario Manningham

Your newest fantasy crush is a rare Michigan receiver success story. Maybe.

Sure, Braylon Edwards had that one amazing year. And Desmond Howard, well, he wasn’t really a receiver, was he?

Mario Manningham was drafted in the third round by the New York Giants in 2008 after a stellar 2007 season that saw him catch 72 passes for 1,174 yards and 12 touchdowns.

This was especially impressive considering he hadn’t registered more than 750 receiving yards or eight touchdowns in his other two season at Michigan, while also coming off of a serious knee injury that prematurely ended his 2007 campaign. Throw in drug accusations and a horrid Wonderlic test score (6 out of 41), and Manningham’s draft stock plummeted, sending the once “day one” prospect to the middle rounds.

While Manningham has always been knocked for his small stature, (5’11″ and 183 lbs), he has always made up for it with good speed and excellent ball skills. Plain and simple, Manningham has always had a knack for getting open and making things happen when he gets the ball in his hands.

With both Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer around in 2008, the rookie Manningham was under-used, finishing the season with only four receptions. However, with Burress in prison and Toomer knocking on the door of retirement, Manningham entered 2008 as a prime candidate for a serious look at starter numbers.

After an injury took impressive rookie Hakeem Nicks off the field, a spot opened up for Manningham two weeks ago, and after a solid pre-season, it’s quite clear that Manningham is doing with his opportunity as he does with a football: running with it, and never looking back. In just two games, Manningham already has surpassed Domenik Hixon’s team-high 11 broken tackles from last year (for receivers), and rests fourth in the league in yardage from receivers. Few would have guessed that Eli Manning and the Giants offense would have been this effective in the early going, especially considering their strong commitment to the ground game. With 10 catches for 150 yards in his second game and a score in both of the Giants contests, Manningham is paying off for the Giants, and finally realizing his potential.

While it’s always good to avoid “waiver wire wonders” if possible, Manningham’s good speed and play-making ability figure to be constants in a suddenly potent Giants passing attack.