New York Giants |
Height: 5-11 Weight:
200 Age: 25
Born: 11/5/1992 Baton Rouge,
LA
College: LSU
Experience: 5th season
High School: Isidore Newman HS
[New Orleans, LA]
The Perception:
For any young super star that literally bursts on the scene and
gains national attention, the scrutiny becomes magnified whenever something is
said or done on or off the field. Odell Beckham Jr has been no stranger to both
positive and negative perceptions of actions done throughout his short career.
Early on the largest knock on Beckham was the level of maturity which at times
became a distraction to the Giants organization. Often, team’s management and
coaching staffs will look the other direction when talent speaks volumes on the
field, which Odell has proven on a weekly basis. Going back in review on the
2017 offseason when Beckham and his agents were haggling for a new contract
before his rookie deal had expired, those questions of how Odell carried
himself were in full view for examination. Though the Beckham camp was surely
justified to angle for a large long-term contract extension, the New York
Giants used all the leverage they had to stay the course greatly underpaying
one of the best receivers in the game.
While Odell remained frustrated with the lack of movement on a
new deal, we completely empathized with him on that situation as he essentially
was forced to play out the string of a contract that he completely outplayed
based on value and return. While some perceive Beckham as a headache and a
drama filled individual always voicing his displeasure placing the attention on
his shoulders, the 2017 campaign fell by the wayside due in part to a broken
leg ending his season and putting a damper on future contract negotiations. As
the Giants season was filled with injuries to other high-ranking players, the
year became a complete wash leaving no reason to risk getting Odell back on the
field with a quicker recovery.
As the Giants moved forward, all attention was geared to
rebuilding the front office which saw highly respected general manager Dave
Gettleman begin the process. Shortly after, the Big-Blue secured their top
candidate for their vacant head coaching position, hiring former Vikings
offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to reinstall stability to a squad that still
has playoff and potential championship aspirations. In the midst of roster
additions and turnover, Odell’s contract situation lost priority in media
circles as draft day trade rumors had Beckham potentially being shipped to
another organization. When all was said and done, the Giants selected to kept
Odell and drafted another potential super star in Saquon Barkley to add a
dynamic running game to a club that has been starving for production behind Eli
Manning for years. It became clear to us at ADF that the direction the Giants
were moving (post NFL draft) was in fact the turning point in how the Beckham
camp chose to change their approach regarding his new contract.
The Reality:
It’s no secret that Odell Beckham Jr is one of the best wide
receivers in the game with his endless amount of production and highlight reel
plays. At times we too questioned whether Odell would find that maturity switch
that would round him out as a top-flight individual to match the product on the
field. As the offseason began to move forward, we anticipated the narrative to
be filled with discussion that Beckham was indeed ready to holdout for that
lucrative new contract he fully deserved. When the time came to report to
training camp, Odell Beckham went on record saying he would put all the trust
in his abilities and play out his fifth-year option, betting on himself to
further prove he was worth a deal that could potentially make him one of the
highest paid in the league and not only at his position. In hearing the
selflessness to put the team first while realizing what this Giants club could
do in 2018, we at ADF gained a large amount of respect for Odell in how he is handling
his situation.
With all the talk of contracts and money in the rear-view until
the completion of this new season, the focus clearly shifts to what the New
York Giants could become with a healthy Odell Beckham and uber-talented Saquon
Barkley leading the charge. When reviewing past seasons, its not difficult to
witness the lack of talent employed in the backfield and offensive line groups
over the years to assist Eli Manning in having viable options allowing this
team to be more dynamic in their play calling and execution. This season, key
additions should improve the offensive line allowing Manning to dissect the
field with greatly regularity finding Beckham with higher efficiency. Teamed
with that improvement, employing a stellar run game will also assist Eli,
increasing fear in the opposition that a true play action pass threat exists,
which will only lift the potential for greater success down the field to Odell
on a weekly basis, win-win. If Odell Beckham can remain the course as he’s
shown thus far in terms of his growth in maturity, this Giants team will
flourish regaining that punch from just two years removed.
The Outlook:
While regurgitating statistics from some players is very
important to the evaluation process for following seasons, Odell has been the
epitome of consistency throughout his career minus last year’s injury lost
campaign. There isn’t much that Beckham doesn’t do right, as he is a polished
route runner with a fantastic first step off the line and possessing perhaps
the best hands we’ve ever seen in NFL history. While the obvious outlook would
suggest a full bounce back season generating numbers comparable to career
averages based on his impressive skillset, we feel the supporting cast will
play a larger role in Beckham garnering potential career statistics for the
2018 season. While injuries have been a concern in his short career which has
seen Odell only complete one full sixteen game season, playing on a true
contract year provides us more credence that Beckham will see a boatload of
targets while not being the one and only vocal point on this offense, you see
where we are heading here? While we’ve had our reservations of Odell Beckham Jr
in the past, we absolutely are enamored with the incredible potential this unit
has and have zero qualms endorsing a fantastic season with very high-end
production.
From the fantasy football perceptive, last year left owners in
utter frustration seeing an early round selection wasted and relegated to the
medical room for recovery. Strictly for evaluation purposes, going back to the
2016 fantasy season, Beckham achieved point totals good enough to stand as the
fourth most productive wide receiver in the NFL, generating a whopping 296.6 points in PPR (Point Per
Reception) formats giving him an average of 18.5 points per game. This type of production rivals the
best in the business, as the great Antonio Brown would’ve beat out Odell for
top spot (last season) by a mere 13.7
points based on the comparison from two seasons ago. With fantasy mock drafts
showing a heightened drive to select running backs in the first round, Odell
finds himself sitting with an ADP (Average Draft Position) of 12 and a worst
selection grade of 16 as of today. This placement puts Beckham at the end of
the first round, to the middle of the second round of drafts, providing
incredible value to snag a top producer with your second-round pick. While ADF
has already voiced our confidence in endorsing Beckham for the upcoming
campaign, we predict Odell to reach stats anywhere in the neighborhood of;
95-100 receptions going for 1400-1500 yards while securing 10-14 touchdowns.
Baring health and injury issues, Odell will be a slam dunk with this new style offense.
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