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New York Giants: How Odell Beckham Jr. is following up his rookie season perfectly

By Kevin Parvizi

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After the first four weeks of the 2015 regular season, some where wondering if New York Giants mega-star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was about to hit something of a sophomore wall.

Sure, he had seven catches and a touchdown against both the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins, thoroughly dominating Atlanta with 146 yards in a come-from-behind victory. Others were concerned by his limited Week 1 production against the Dallas Cowboys, and the fact that Buffalo Bills rookie corner Ronald Darby, who is a “rookie” in the same way Beckham was a “rookie” last year, shut him down led to heightened concerns.

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Beckham still looked like a star, as evidenced by his strong performances against the Redskins and Falcons, but many were expecting more out of a receiver widely dubbed as the game’s best after just one season. After all, even 79 receiving yards against the Redskins was off of his 108.8 per game pace in 2014, and it’s not like Washington boasts the steadiest secondary in the NFL.

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As of right now, Beckham Jr. is averaging 86.3 receiving yards per game and 13.7 yards per reception, which are both below his averages of 108.8 yards per game and 14.3 yards per reception as a rookie. And yet, Beckham is probably playing just as well this season as he was last year, and it’s important to understand that the stats show a maturation in his role with the team.

Last season, I often wrote about how no wide receiver is more important to his team’s success than Julio Jones to the Atlanta Falcons, but I think Beckham has overtaken him in that regard. If you look at the Giants offense, it’s an impressive one statistically. New York is fourth in the NFL in points per game, 12th in yards per game, and among the league leaders in passing touchdowns and interceptions (Eli Manning has 21 TDs to just six picks).

The Giants offense isn’t stellar, but it’s pretty darn good. I mean, it’s good enough to help the Giants achieve a 5-5 record at the top of the NFC East despite being 23rd in the league in scoring defense, 31st in yards per game allowed, dead last in first downs allowed, 20th in yards per carry surrendered, and a grotesque 28th in net yards per pass attempt allowed.

By every statistical measure, the Giants defense sucks. Without a running game (the Giants have 3.8 yards per carry as an offense and don’t have a single player resembling a feature back), the Giants have been forced to ride Eli, Beckham, Rueben Randle, Shane Vereen, and a passing attack that has managed to move the ball efficiently this season.

At the heart of that efficient play on offense is Beckham Jr., who has been one of the league’s best possession receivers this season. Yes, you read that right. A guy who is known for his dynamic speed and athletic ability has been one of the safest sources of yardage around the NFL this year, and the numbers back that up.

Firstly, despite being targeted a whopping 104 times on the season as the clear No. 1 priority for defenses to double-cover, Beckham’s efficiency hasn’t waned much. He is one of Pro Football Focus’s leaders in yards per route run (everyone else on the Giants is below-average in this stat) and averages 8.3 yards per target. Although Beckham averaged a much higher amount of yards per target last season, the difference is that he has to spend more time moving the chains this season.

Additionally, Beckham is facing more attention from defenses after an offseason of tape to look at the rookie sensation, which is why the title of this piece is in reference to the fact that he has indeed responded to his rookie hype and success perfectly.

Without Beckham, you can only imagine how inept this offense would be, simply because of all the attention he draws from defenses. Randle is catching an impressive 70.4% of everything thrown at him, but could the Giants really rely on him as a No. 1 target despite the praise-worthy improvements he’s made, particularly on the consistency front?

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We could speculate about that all day, but what isn’t up for speculation are the numbers. Per Sporting Charts, Beckham is fifth in the NFL in first down receptions, tying him with Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald, who will make it to the Hall of Fame on the strength of his ability to create a fresh set of downs for his offense. Meanwhile, only Antonio Brown has more yards after the catch among WRs than Beckham, meaning that the yardage he is accruing is mostly off of his own work, which is incredibly valuable- and most likely irreplaceable- to the Giants.

If we’re talking about invaluable traits and stats, touchdowns are always important, because a player with a disproportionately high amount of receiving TDs compared to his teammates (See: Gronkowski, Rob) is also very likely the team’s most important pass-catcher. This is especially true for a 5’11” wide receiver, because it shows that his QB trusts him more than anyone else in the red zone with the margin for error slimmer than anywhere on the field.

Nov 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) runs from New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Kasim Edebali (91) during the second half of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Giants 52-49. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Beckham’s eight touchdown receptions are second in the NFL behind only Tyler Eifert, and only Dwayne Harris has half as many receiving touchdowns on the Giants.

You can understand why big, athletic TEs like Gronk and Eifert are bullying defenders for huge touchdown totals, but it’s just downright impressive to watch a guy like Beckham haul in TDs at a high rate, even if everyone who watched his college tape knew how good he is in contested situations.

Another situation where it’s important to trust a receiver and where we can tell how important a wideout is? Third downs. Pro Football Focus’s Ben Stockwell did an excellent job of looking at third down stats for skill position players, and Beckham Jr.’s production jumps off the page.

He is the best receiver in the game at converting first downs when the ball is thrown short of the first down marker, which goes back to the fact that he’s one of the league leaders in yards after the catch. See how valuable YAC is?

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So Beckham’s reliability goes beyond just his notoriously great hands and athletic ability, and he’s clearly as well-rounded as they come.

Whether it’s fighting for first downs, bossing defenders in the end zone, avoiding drops, getting open, getting others open, or going off for big games (only Brown has more 100-yard performances than Beckham’s five, which is a mark tied with several others), Beckham is doing it all.

He’s responded to all the hoopla beautifully, and, with three straight 100-yard performances, he’s scarily playing his best football right now with the Giants in their bye week.

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