Odell Beckham Jr. made the Giants 53-man roster after a strong preseason and is wearing his old No. 13. If this is his last NFL chapter, at least it is happening in the place his career started.
Beckham has been through the wringer since his time in New York. Injuries, team changes, a Super Bowl win with the Rams, and multiple stops that ended quietly. He came into camp with something to prove and did enough to earn a spot.
The Giants needed a veteran presence in a receiver room that features Malik Nabers and not much else that has been productive at the NFL level. Beckham fills that role and gives the young QB situation a target who has seen everything.
The No. 13 storyline matters more to fans than it does to the team. But Giants fans grew up on OBJ catches in that jersey and having him back in it is going to sell a lot of tickets.
The tricky part is what Beckham actually gives you on the field at this point. He is not the vertical threat he once was and his hands still let him down more than they used to. But he can still get open on short and intermediate routes.
The Giants offense is going to feature Nabers as the true No. 1. Beckham slots in as a veteran option who can move around the formation and take pressure off the young guys.
The coaching staff will likely limit his snap counts to preserve him for later in the season. There is no reason to burn him out early when the running game and Nabers can carry the offense in September.
The New York media is going to love this. Every training camp practice is going to have an OBJ update and every big catch is going to trend on social media.
For a Giants team that has been searching for good vibes for years, having Beckham back in blue is exactly the kind of feel-good storyline they needed heading into the opener.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
