Odell Beckham Jr. Is Definition of Special Talent with Rookie Domination: The New York Giants have unearthed something special in Odell Beckham Jr. After dropping to the 12th overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft, Beckham missed most of the offseason because of hamstring issues. His hamstring issues lingered to the point that he missed training camp, the preseason and the first month of the regular season. Once he arrived on the field during the regular season, he was immediately tasked with carrying the Giants depleted passing attack. Without wide receiver Victor Cruz and running back Rashad Jennings through injury, Eli Manning has been throwing the ball to limited tight end Larry Donnell, limited wide receiver Preston Parker and unreliable receiver Rueben Randle for most of the season. Once Beckham got on the field for the first time against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, he was Mannings most reliable, most explosive and most technically gifted target. Even with Cruz on the field, Beckhams talent shone through, and he showed off an exceptional level of comfort for a rookie making his debut—not least a rookie making his debut after losing out on all of his valuable preparation. Beckham had four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown during his first game. He also drew a big pass-interference penalty and would have had a huge touchdown reception on a double move, but Manning missed him when he was wide open down the left sideline. A muted performance against the Philadelphia Eagles the following week reflected the struggles of the Giants offense as a whole. A Beckham-centric approach has taken over since then though. Despite playing on a depleted offense with limited receivers to draw attention away from him, Beckham has compiled an unfathomable 79 receptions for 1,120 yards and 11 touchdowns in just 11 games this year. Those numbers include his debut, when he was rotating in and out of the lineup. In just three months, Beckham has all but wrapped up the Rookie of the Year award and made as strong a case as any peer to be considered as one of the top five receivers in the NFL. Even though nobody could have expected the 22-year-old to make this kind of immediate impact in the NFL, it was always clear during the draft process that he was the most pro-ready receiver in his class. At LSU, Beckham showed off the physical ability, technical refinement and consistency to suggest he could be productive from the first game of his career. The only reason his production didnt match his talent was the offense he played in and the quarterback he caught passes from. Zach Mettenberger was a good college quarterback with enough physical tools to be drafted by the Tennessee Titans despite having a torn ACL and some character concerns. However, Mettenbergers accuracy was such that it routinely forced Beckham to make exceptional catches. Unless youve literally become an NFL fan over the past week—and even then it might be a stretch—youve likely seen that catch from Beckham. Beckhams (in)famous catch against the Dallas Cowboys was just one of many exceptional plays he has made on the ball this season. Despite being just 511, Beckham is able to consistently dominate at the catch point because of how he tracks the ball in the air, his strength to win positioning on the ball and his unnatural ball skills to pull passes in with. By dominating at the catch point, Beckham gives his quarterback a target who can make receptions even when he is covered. Furthermore, the rookie receivers catch radius extends around his body, so he gives Manning a greater margin for error with his accuracy. Unlike taller receivers who can dominate at the catch point from the shoulders up, Beckham also possesses the fluidity and quickness to adjust to low passes or accelerate in the end of his route to catch up to erratically placed passes. Beckham can run any short or underneath route with precision and haste while showing no fear against contact. That makes him an effective possession receiver. With his ability to be a possession receiver, he also possesses the nuanced route-running ability and explosiveness to consistently create separation deep down the field. This is something we have seen on numerous occasions in recent weeks. For his longest touchdown reception of the season against the St. Louis Rams, Beckham initially lined up in the slot. He is running a deep post route from his own 20-yard line. The defense initially gives him a free release by letting the defender across from him simply drop inside to take away the inside routes. That defensive back lets Beckham go past him and doesnt track him down the field. Once past the initial wave of defenders, Beckham angles his route so that it is parallel with the sideline. At the top of his initial movement, he makes one very hard step toward the sideline before pushing back infield on the post route. Everything Beckham does here is done with precision and exceptional speed. The defensive back coming across to meet him has no chance of turning with him. Beckham has to wait on the football, but he has beaten the secondary so badly that he has plenty of time to slow down, reach back for the ball and still find his way to the end zone without sprinting there. As far as 80-yard touchdowns go, Beckham made this one look very, very easy. Route running is vitally important for setting up deep routes. As explosive and physically gifted as any receiver is, he needs to understand how to run routes to consistently create separation down the field. Against either the best or second-best cornerback in the NFL, Richard Sherman, Beckham was able to come free deep down the right sideline because of his route running. Sherman initially pressed him at the line of scrimmage. Beckham was able to release to the sideline by initially hesitating before accelerating to the outside and using his upper-body strength to fend the defensive back off. Once working down the sideline, Beckham begins a break in his route to run a comeback route. Sherman is on his shoulder in the perfect position to cover him if he breaks back toward the sideline. Beckham doesnt do that, however; instead he fakes the comeback and continues working down the field. Beckhams footwork put Sherman off balance somewhat, so the defensive back tries to be physical with him to make up for his lack of balance. Sherman attempts to slow Beckham down with his hands, but Beckham fights him off without extending his hand fully away from his body. This allows the receiver to escape down the sideline before diving for the reception from Mannings pass. By the time Beckham has run the route and caught the ball, he has gained 40-plus yards. After just 11 games in the NFL, Beckham has already proved that he can beat any caliber of defensive back in any type of coverage from any position on the field in multiple ways. His versatility and exceptional athleticism combined with his technique and consistency make him a special player. Players are regularly called special these days. Its supposed to be a rare term, but the extremist nature of NFL opinion-making has made it relatively easy to earn this tag. Like Andrew Luck a few seasons ago, Beckham is the rare rookie who really qualifies as a special player. What he has done to this point in his career is simply unbelievable. Despite missing the start of the season, he has gone on to set multiple NFL records. * His 79 receptions are the most for any NFL player through his first 11 games. * Those 79 receptions are a rookie record for any Giants player. * With eight consecutive games of at least 90 yards receiving, Beckham holds the record among rookies. * He is the first rookie in NFL history to post at least 130 receiving yards and a touchdown in three consecutive games. Beckhams displays serve as a reminder of what it really means to be special as a rookie in the NFL. His displays have served as a major positive for the Giants offense and energized the whole franchise. Had Beckham not turned the fortunes of the offense around at midseason, its possible that Tom Coughlins and Jerry Reeses futures would have already been decided. That alone should highlight just how important Beckham is going to be to the Giants moving forward. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #NFCEast #NewYorkGiants
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 01:23:41 +0000
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