Giants Legend Carl Banks Backs Odell Beckham Jr. Reunion to Aid Malik Nabers’ Development

For as much as one player's sheer athletic abilities can attract the admiration of everyone inside and outside an NFL organization, the price of that early stardom can sometimes brew a me-first personality that often leads to their downfall in the locker room.

If anyone has learned that lesson in their professional career, it's former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who, despite his immediate success on the football field after he was drafted by Big Blue in 2014, saw his relationship with the franchise deteriorate over his time in East Rutherford.

Beckham, who instantly became the Giants' most talented target and produced three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2014-16, fell victim to his ego dictating his effort on the gridiron, and, in turn, negatively affecting his perception among some within the organization and the public.

It was a major reason the Giants elected to trade Beckham to the Cleveland Browns in the lead-up to the 2019 season, despite him being such a reliable and efficient producer for their offensive aspirations behind an aging quarterback, Eli Manning.

Eight years later, the 33-year-old Beckham is eyeing a return to an NFL roster and left plenty of hints regarding his interest in reuniting with New York and new head coach John Harbaugh amid their quest to improve the receiving corps this offseason.

The veteran receiver believes he has more to give to the game and the Giants' goal of success in 2026, but so does one notable figure around the franchise--Giants two-time Super Bowl champion linebacker Carl Banks, who sees even another underrated role in which Beckham can serve the team.

"I don't have a problem with his presence in the locker room," Banks said about Beckham's fit with the Giants during an interview on the "Bleav in Giants" podcast.

Watch this @BleavNetwork clip👇🏾 https://t.co/8fXHyS3Ao3 pic.twitter.com/B2y8yz1LyH
— Carl Banks (@CarlBanksGIII) April 1, 2026

"[Odell's] no longer the guy who magically sucks the oxygen out of the room. He's an established NFL player, and I think the aura of Odell Beckham has kind of been absorbed."

"He's a pro's pro now; he's going to do things that will wow you even at his age, but he's also going to be a good teammate. He was not a good teammate; he was just one of those guys who had an aura in the locker room of being the center of the earth...and that guy is gone."

After finishing as the Giants' leading pass catcher and scoring 35 touchdowns in his first three seasons, Beckham's loud career was quickly humbled as he shifted from East Rutherford to his next two stints with the Browns and Los Angeles Rams.

He would suffer two separate ACL tears in each of those respective stints, including the second injury during the Rams' Super Bowl LVI championship win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 campaign finale, which he opened up by scoring a touchdown for the eventual victors.

Beckham appeared in just 21 games throughout that three-year window and saw both his production and status within the receiving hierarchy dwindle right before his eyes.

Even when healthy, his value on the open market took a massive hit, and he wasn't treated like the same star receiver demanding the heaviest dose of targets from whatever quarterback he played with.

What was surely foreign territory had to become a wake-up call for Beckham. One that made him realize that if he wanted to continue playing at the highest level of football, he would need to put aside his antics and focus on doing his part to support and uplift his teammates.

It's definitely a lesson he learned when he signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023 and played under Harbaugh, who was still the head coach at the time, and now has enough experience built up to help the Giants and their bright-eyed receivers play with him.

Sep 21, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) looks on before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

One who is eerily familiar to his once-young ilk is Giants' star receiver Malik Nabers, who hit a crossroads in his early career last season and whom Banks believes could benefit from the presence of a veteran who can share sage advice on handling fame and being a better player.

"He still loves the game, he has never been outworked and has always been in shape," Banks added. "I only see him as an asset."

"I think he is a stabilizing force, especially for someone like Malik Nabers, who is still super raw, super talented, and just as emotional as a young Odell Beckham because he wants it so bad.

"A seasoned Odell Beckham can now help calibrate a guy like Nabers."

Like Beckham, Nabers, who was also a highly touted first-round pick out of LSU, lit up the field at MetLife Stadium and across the league in his rookie year. He became the Giants' favorite target, hauling in a new franchise rookie record of 109 receptions for 1,204 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Still, Nabers' incredible talents were not enough to drag the Giants out of the doldrums of a mediocre 3-14 record, and even with a lot of the offensive game plan centered around getting him the football, he grew repeatedly upset with the carousel at quarterback, and the losses that were piling up.

Then, last season, Nabers dealt with his first injury, tearing his ACL in the team's Week 4 contest against the Los Angeles Chargers. In one snap, Nabers felt the same dropoff from being the hero of the Giants' offense to someone who had to build himself back up during a long and arduous rehab.

There is a lot to look forward to as Nabers looks to return to the field in 2026, but there will also be a very new set of weapons brought in free agency by Harbaugh, who will get their fair share of impact in the scheme.

How Nabers reacts to the changes around him, albeit highly positive, remains to be seen. He could still desire to remain the focal point of the Giants' aerial attack, and perhaps having an experienced teammate in Beckham, who has walked the same journey, could help alter his perspective as a player and leader in the locker room.

As has been the case, Banks' suggestion still holds no water until the Giants decide they want to hand their former first-round pick an invite to show what he has left in the tank via a workout this offseason.

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