There’s a reason I leave all the college football coverage to our good friend Brother Love (aka Big League Clu). I don’t follow the college game as closely as I do the professional game, so I haven’t really familiarized myself with young Mr. Beckham before last night. Now that he’s a New York Football Giant, however, let’s all get to know him a little better.
The Giants have a lot of needs heading into this draft, and an impact big play wide receiver is definitley one of them. If the scouting reports are true, you can cross that one off the list now that Beckham is on board. It’s a good thing too, because the Giants were looking pretty slim at WR. Sure, they have Pro Bowler Victor Cruz, and some OK talent in Rueben Randle, Jerrell Jernigan and Mario Manningham behind him, but they needed another explosive weapon for Eli Manning to throw the ball to.
Beckham, a three year starter at LSU had, by far, his best season in 2013. He caught 57 passes for 1,117 yards and 8 TDs and also returned 14 punts for 141 yards and 30 kicks for 806 yards. The numbers are good, but they don’t tell the whole story. And the Valley Shook, a popular LSU blog, said it best in their pre-draft scouting report:
“Beckham is incredibly polished as a receiver, and should adapt to the pro game very quickly. He’ll probably be best as a complimentary target that can focus on the things he does well, similar to players like DeSean Jackson, Mike Wallace or Santonio Holmes. But he has the hands and length of a much taller player and that will serve him well against bigger pro corners, especially in the redzone. His skills as a return man provide another asset.”a
I don’t know about you guys, but that sounds pretty good to me. If this scouting report holds true, and Beckham is as polished as other scouts and reporters are saying, then he will be a great addition to the Giants offense. They upgraded at RB with Rashad Jennings already, and now they’ve given Eli another big time weapon on the outside, which is always great to have, when you have a guy like Cruz holding down the slot. He’s not the biggest guy out there, at 5’11 and 198 lbs, but speed kills, and Beckham has plenty of that.
His punt return skills appear to be a huge bonus for me. The Giants already greatly improved their specials teams by signing Quintin Demps and Trindon Holliday, but it’s always good to a position with such game changing potential. According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, Beckham is a “lump-in-your-throat kind of kick and punt returner.”
Beckham, Jr. strikes me as a DeSean Jackson type of player who can single handedly change a game with his speed. Being that I practically begged the Giants to sign Jackson earlier this offseason, you can see why I’m so happy with this pick. I can’t wait to see how this kid develops in the NFL.
From ESPN:
- http://www.bigblueview.com/2014/5/8/5695078/ny-giants-2014-nfl-draft-picks-round-1-odell-beckham-jr (back)
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@OBJ_3 Welcome to the Giants. Jobu shows some love. http://t.co/pPGvX0nGan