NY Giants football: All-decade wide receivers team

1. Odell Beckham Jr.

There is little argument about who is the most talented NY Giants player to have played the wide receiver position over the past decade, and probably ever. That distinguished honor goes to the highly controversial Odell Beckham Jr.

Drafted by the Giants in the first round, with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 draft out of LSU, Beckham Jr. was bound for superstardom. After missing most of training camp and the first four games of his rookie season, Beckham Jr. broke out in a big way for the Giants.

During his 2014 Rookie of the Year campaign, Beckham Jr. would set a rookie record for having at least 90 yards receiving by doing so in 8 consecutive games, became only the fourth rookie to record over 1,300 yards receiving in a season (despite missing four games to injury), and broke the NY Giants record for most receiving yards in a single game with 185 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in the final game of the season.

His rookie season ranks amongst the greatest in the history of the NFL and it launched him into the superstar player and global icon that he is today. His rookie season included one of the greatest catches in NFL history, with the iconic one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys in a Sunday Night Football game.

Beckham Jr. would have continued success in 2015, with 1,450 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. The successful season would be remembered for his classic matchup against Josh Norman, then of the Carolina Panthers, where Beckham Jr. would be flagged for three personal fouls and would subsequently be suspended for a game following the on-field altercations with Norman.

In 2016, Beckham Jr. would have another stellar season under new head coach Ben McAdoo, amassing 1,367 yards and ten touchdowns en route to an 11-5 season that culminated in a playoff berth. However, Beckham Jr. would be remembered more for what he did off the field that postseason than what he did on the field.

When photos surfaced of Beckham Jr. and other Giants players such as Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard, and Roger Lewis partying on a boat with rapper Trey Songs, he and the Giants were crushed for partying before their playoff matchup with the Green Bay Packers. They would ultimately lose the game and Beckham Jr. would disappear, recording just four receptions for 28 yards.

Beckham Jr. would be injured in 2017, playing in only four games and recording 25 receptions for 302 yards and three touchdowns. He would sign a five-year $95 million contract in the offseason and would catch 77 passes for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns in 2018 in 12 games.

Following the 2018 season, the Giants would trade Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns, despite general manager Dave Gettleman made his infamous statement that the Giants “did not sign him to trade him”.

In five seasons with the NY Giants, Beckham Jr. was named to three Pro Bowls (2014-2016), was the 2014 Rookie of the Year award winner, and was a two-time second-team All-Pro. He would set numerous franchise records with the Giants including most receiving yards in a rookie season (1,305), most receptions in a rookie season (91), most games with 100+ yards in a rookie season (7), most games with 125+ yards receiving as a rookie (6), highest average yards per game for a rookie season (108.8) and many more.

He would also set over 20 NFL records during his time with the Giants, including becoming the fastest player to reach 100, 150, 200, and 250 receptions. He also became the fastest to ever reach 3,000, 3,500, 4,000 and 5,000 receiving yards.

In total, Odell Beckham Jr. would amass 390 receptions for 5,476 receiving yards and 44 touchdowns in his five seasons with the New York Giants. In doing so he put himself amongst the greatest wide receivers in team history and was certainly the greatest NY Giants wide receiver in the past decade.