3. WR Odell Beckham
Well, if the mention of Tiki Barber hasn’t already gotten your blood boiling, maybe Odell Beckham’s name will. However, I feel it’s totally unfair to hate Odell or diminish what he did with the team, as he did many spectacular things with the NY Giants and always left it all of the field and had a burning desire to win.
Were there stupid little drama issues such as kicking nets and fighting with other (teams’) players? Sure. But he was a model teammate and by all accounts was loved in the locker room, right up until he gave that ill-fated interview with Josina Anderon and Lil’ Wayne; even then, many teammates still supported him.
Some may criticize his place on this list due to the fact he only played five seasons with the NY Giants – one of them mired by injury – but those five years were so fantastic that his spot here is well deserved.
Odell’s explosion onto the New York scene after being drafted in the first round of the 2014 draft was something few saw coming, but man, it was beautiful; he truly took New York City by storm. Beckham was a highly-touted prospect to be sure, but no one predicted the likes of which he’d terrorize opposing defenses.
Odell set just about every NFL receiving record you could set in the first three years of a career, including receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro during his time with the NY Giants.
Injuries were a problem, as Odell only played in 59 of a possible 80 games with the NY Giants, but again, those 59 games were spectacular.
Beckham won the NFL Rookie of the Year Award despite missing the first four games of the season, putting up a ridiculous 91-1305-12 (receptions, yards, TD’s) in just 12 games.
He continues that success when he wasn’t injured, piling up 390 receptions for 5,467 yards and a mind-numbing 44 touchdowns in those 59 games.
So while the perceived ‘drama’ Odell brought to the table aggravated many fans, he brought excitement to an era of NY Giants football that was otherwise pretty blah.
I may be in the minority, but it upsets me that he’ll be more remembered for one infamous boat picture and a foolish (on his part) interview rather than all the heart he played with and staggering numbers he put up.
NY Giants fans will get their chance to show their appreciation, or hate when he comes back to Metlife to take on Big Blue in Week 15 of this season.