Why Odell Beckham Jr.’s True Giants Value Lies Beyond the Stat Sheet

Anyone who is expecting New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. to dazzle the way he did in his first five NFL seasons with Big Blue is probably going to be disappointed.

Beckham is not only older, but he’s gone through two major ACL injuries, has been a lightning rod for controversy with what he’s said and done, has missed two of the last three seasons, and has since bounced around the league, with really just one team–the Giants–having shown any serious interest in his services.

That he signed a one-year veteran salary benefit contract with no guaranteed money and, from the looks of things, no incentives, is telling in two ways.

First, the Giants are not expecting Beckham to change his role as the No. 1 receiver on this team, a role still held by Malik Nabers, who is undergoing his own rehab from an ACL injury.

Second–and more importantly–they are placing more of a value on what he can bring to the locker room that has little to do with Xs and Os.

Sharing Experiences

Odell Beckham Jr. with former teammate Saquon Barkley | Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Look across every NFL roster, and you’re bound to find at least one older veteran whose better days might be behind him but who has a lot to offer in terms of lessons learned at the hands of being a public figure in the NFL.

That was part of the appeal of quarterback Jameis Winston, a one-time first-round draft pick whose star quickly faded but has reinvented himself as both a viable back and, more importantly, a mentor who imparts lessons from his own pitfalls to help teammates avoid theirs.

Beckham can bring the same type of experience and then some to a locker room that has several larger-than-life personalities–many of whom haven’t come close to racking up the accolades Beckham did in his five seasons with Big Blue.

Most of all, he can be a resource. Having gone through two ACL recoveries, does anyone think Beckham can’t bond with fellow receiver Nabers to help keep his spirits up as he learns to regain trust in his knee during a process which, like all rehabs, will have its ups and downs?

“I think I could be a great asset for him,” Beckham said of Nabers. “You know, even when I wasn't here, I was hitting him up.

“Now there's a way to do everything. And I think just with everybody else, like everybody learns from their own ways and mistakes. Like, my son is gonna have all the game in the world, right?

But he's still going to grow up and as an adult, he's gonna make his own mistakes and I'm gonna be there to pick him up and, you know, maybe give some advice for the next time that he can carry.

But at the end of the day, (Nabers) is a grown man. He is gonna make his decisions. And I think when you go through an injury like that it really, it hardens you, but then it also, it gives you a lot of experience. It gives you a lot of knowledge and you get to learn a lot about yourself.

So I think through this process– which has been a tough process–I think he's gonna come out on the other end better, and I can't wait to see him back on the field. Obviously we know what kind of player he is, so just however I could help him, anybody else trust me, I know all the things to do and I know the things not to do."

This is where Beckham's true value lies. That being said, he’s also going to have to show that he can still give the team something on the field; otherwise, all the wisdom he’s capable of sharing won’t mean a thing.

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