Since the common draft began in the NFL in the mid-1960s, few players have made an impact on the New York Giants as much as wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
There was, of course, Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms, Carl Banks, Harry Carson, Eli Manning, Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber, Jeremy Shockey, and Amani Toomer. All exemplary Giants.
As great as those players were, perhaps only Taylor had a bigger impact than Beckham, who burst on the scene in 2014 as the team's first-round pick out of LSU. He went on to have a record-setting first three years and did it with a panache Giant fans had never seen.
But Bekcham was a mercurial young man and his star flared out quickly. A knee injury and a pattern of bizarre behavior didn't help. He was eventually dealt to the Cleveland Browns in 2019 for a package of players and draft picks.
Beckham recently lamented being traded away by the Giants during Saturday's Champions League Final broadcast on Paramount Plus.
"I never, ever wanted to leave the New York Giants," Beckham Jr. said. "The reason you heard me talking about what was going on was because I was pissed because, where I come from in college, if we lost one game, our season was over.
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"This was the organization I got drafted to. They believed in me. So if the Giants went and won a Super Bowl, I would be happy. But deep down inside, I wanted to be the one. No question. So it's definitely you'll always hold that. But then someone like me, I went to the LA Rams, won a Super Bowl. But still, you just want that."
Many younger fans were not in favor of the trade, either, while older Giant fans were not sorry to see the volatile and eccentric Beckham go. He had worn out his welcome and, more importantly, the team was losing with him.
Beckham, now 32 and without a team for the upcoming 2025 NFL season, played three years in Cleveland before moving on to the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens, and Miami Dolphins. He caught a touchdown as a member of the Rams in their Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals but tore his ACL on the play and left the game.
Beckham has not started more than seven games in a season since 2019. Although he has a Super Bowl ring with the Rams, he isn't considered part of their family. He also has no lasting connection to Cleveland, Baltimore, or Miami.
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It's the Giants where he feels most connected. Except that he's not. Beckham usually looks back on his time with Big Blue with a discerning eye. Perhaps now, as his career winds down, he is realizing how special his time here in New York was.
