NY Giants: Comparing Kadarius Toney to Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz

Some of the most fun scouts had throughout the draft process was when they scouted NY Giants’ first round pick, Kadarius Toney.

His highlights, journey, and personality made him must-see.

Toney, a human joystick with the ball in his hands, an inspirational road that led him to draft night, and the charisma of a star.

In recent years, the Giants have had receivers with similar qualities. While their stars shined bright, eventually they burnt out – it’ll be the job of Joe Judge and the Giants’ coaching staff to ensure Toney‘s career doesn’t follow a similar path.

While his selection may have surprised many at #20 overall, it broke the hearts of teams hoping for the former Florida Gator to fall to them. It’s been reported that the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars had their eyes on Toney – specifically Jaguars’ coach, Urban Meyer, expressing regret about missing out on him.

Now, Toney will try to etch his place in Giants’ receiving history. He has some big names to live up to – but before he makes his own path in New York, let’s look at the qualities he shares with two of the best Giants’ receivers in recent years.

Here’s how NY Giants rookie Kadarius Toney compares to Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz:

Odell Beckham Jr.

Arguably the most polarizing player in NY Giants’ history.

Odell Beckham Jr. took the league by storm quickly after the Giants’ made him their 2014 first round pick. While Beckham’s Giants only made the playoffs once over his five years in New York, his impact was prodigious.

When the Giants’ drafted Toney, he was the first receiver drafted in the first round by the franchise since Beckham. While Toney won’t be expected to put up 1305 yards and 12 touchdowns in his rookie year, we could see other emulations of Beckham’s game in Toney’s first professional season.

Both receivers are electric to watch, but the biggest similarity Toney shares with Beckham is their ability after the catch.

At times, the Giants’ entire offense relied on Beckham‘s ability to take the ball to the end-zone from anywhere on the field. Slant routes turning into house calls were a regular occurrence when Eli Manning got the ball to his favorite wide receiver.

The same rang true for Toney while at the University of Florida. Coach Dan Mullen knew he just had to get the ball to Toney and let him do the rest – the receiver carving up defenses while taking short passes and screens for six helped Florida become one of college’s best offenses.

Toney actually tested surprisingly similar to Beckham coming out of college – even besting the current Cleveland Browns’ 40-yard dash time. If Jason Garrett can adjust his offense to highlight his new receivers strengths, he could be one of the league’s most exhilarating players.

The Giants haven’t had a player with the unique ability to do that since they traded Beckham to the Browns – now their offense has been given a new dimension. Beckham quickly became Manning’s favorite target due to his ability after the catch – Toney can do the same with Daniel Jones.