For most New York Giants fans, if you told them their team would be 3-1 heading into Week 5, they’d say that likely means Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley are thriving in Brian Daboll’s system, the offensive line is holding up, and the pass-rush is firing on all cylinders. Only, that hasn’t exactly been the case. One of the team’s biggest weaknesses has been its receiving corps, which is where Odell Beckham Jr. appears to be a natural fit.
Beckham, who spent last season between the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams, is still recovering from a torn ACL dating back to February’s Super Bowl. The 29-year-old wide receiver remains a free agent heading into Week 5. While there has been no update on Beckham’s recovery or how ‘ready’ he may be any time soon, Beckham is sure to land with an NFL team at some point in the 2022-23 season.
Why not the Giants?
As of late, the speculation linking Beckham back to his former team of five seasons has been mounting for several reasons. Most notably, Beckham recently visited the facility, although not on an official visit, meaning he didn’t work out for or with the team. Yet, Beckham was back in town, hanging out and being seen with members of the current team. That has to stand for something.
On Friday, coach Daboll was asked whether there was any interest in signing OBJ from the front office’s perspective. In typical coachspeak, he didn’t say much, but he also didn’t squash the rumors based on his discussions with general manager Joe Schoen.
“I’d say that Joe and I talk a lot about a variety of things: players, adding players, workouts on Mondays and Tuesdays. We’re always trying to improve our roster in any way that we can.”
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll responds to OBJ rumors
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Odell Beckham would add a skillset New York Giants currently lack
While many teams will have an interest in signing a talent like Beckham, his decision will likely come down to a number of factors. Obviously, it’s up to OBJ to understand what he wants most in his next landing spot. Does OBJ want the money? Does he want the biggest role in an offense featuring a quarterback who will have no trouble feeding him on game day? Is he interested in trying to be a bigger part of a Super Bowl hopeful? Or maybe Beckham wants to play close to home or in a place where he’s already reached superstar status, such as with the Giants.
As they say, there’s no place like home, and while that may be in New Orleans with the Saints, for OBJ, he quickly found a second home in New York after being brought to the city via the 2014 draft class. More importantly, Big Blue really needs Beckham.
It’s Week 5, and the Giants have already been bit by the injury bug at the wide receiver position. We have yet to see the group at full strength, but even then, Kenny Golladay looks closer to being booted off the roster than suddenly becoming a top contributor.
Aside from the $72 million receiver, the Giants have 2021 first-round pick Kadarius Toney, but he’s been able to play just 35 snaps this season as he battles a hamstring injury. The G-Men still don’t know what they have in the second-year pro, as he’s played 12 games since being selected 20th overall and has totaled 420 yards with no scores in that timeframe. There’s hope he can become a high-end 1B, as coming in at 6-feet-tall likely limits his ceiling a bit. Plus, he was the last regime’s draft choice. Toney’s not Schoen or Daboll’s guy. He has to earn it at this point, like everyone else.
Then the Giants have a bunch of third and fourth-receiver types, such as Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Richie James, and David Sills. There isn’t a consistent downfield threat or a player who profiles as a leading receiver. Beckham, on the other hand, likely wants to prove he can return to that status, and what better team to do it with than the 3-1 Giants, who need to boost their 18th-ranked scoring offense in 2022?