Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver, New York Giants
We mentioned some of the league’s finest receivers when we covered dark horse candidate Jordy Nelson. OBJ probably has a better shot at outperforming his fellow receivers, but for obvious reasons, he is not a slam dunk.
First of all, Beckham is always one fiery tantrum away from landing on suspension. This would throw a monkey wrench into his numbers. On the positive side, Beckham garnered a career-high 169 targets and 101 receptions in 2016. It also marked OBJ’s first 16-game season.
His 101 catches resulting in 1,367 yards ranked him third-highest in yards among receivers last year. Only Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and Julio Jones had more yards. As for touchdowns, Beckham’s 10 trailed behind Nelson’s 14 and the 12 each that Davante Adams, Antonio Brown and Mike Evans scored.
Clearly, Beckham has his work cut out in 2017 to top the charts. But if there was ever a receiver with more passion to be the best, it is Beckham.