WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — For the past couple of days, Odell Beckham Jr. has made New York Giants fans dare to dream that he can actually complete an unlikely comeback.
Beckham, 33, will never again be the superstar he was for a few years after the Giants selected him in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Age and several leg injuries guarantee that. Can he, though, be productive after not playing in 2025 and playing sparingly in 2024?
Maybe.
Don’t get caught up in the “oh my God, Odell is taking
first-team reps” hype. Yes, Beckham has taken reps with starting quarterback Jaxson Dart in the past two practices. So, too, have Jalin Hyatt and Xavier Gipson.
Malik Nabers is not taking team reps. Malachi Fields has only done individual drills for the past couple of days. Darius Slayton is ramping up after double sports hernia surgeries during the offseason. JuJu Smith-Schuster missed a practice this week.
The story isn’t, or shouldn’t be, that Beckham is getting a handful of training camp reps with the starters. That feels like missing the forest for the trees.
The story is that Beckham has practiced every day thus far. The story is, or should be, that after the injuries and time away, Beckham is still a good player. He can still run. He still has strong, sure hands. He is still a good route runner. He doesn’t have the explosive athleticism of his youth, but he can still get open.
Wednesday was Beckham’s best day. He caught passes from Dart, Jameis Winston and Brandon Allen at all three levels of the field.
“I feel like I’m getting better,” Beckham said after Wednesday’s practice. “I feel like with repetition, with mistakes, unfortunately I’m one of those people who has to touch the stove to know that it’s hot and to not touch it again, so I learn from a mistake, and it’s like, all right, that’s something that I corrected.
“So, I definitely feel like I’m getting better. There’s definitely been more opportunities. It’s just a combination of both. But kind of just fizzle all that out, and I’m just like – I’m just locked in the moment. I’m truly grateful for being where my feet are at and just trying to enjoy that each and every day and bring the best energy that I can.”
Defensive back Ar’Darius Washington played with Beckham in 2023 with the Ravens.
“He almost looks better (than 2023),” Washington said. “As far as his physical abilities and things like that, he’s still rolling. Sometimes he gets in his head, and he doesn’t make those plays. He just wants it so bad, I’ll just tell him, just relax. Be yourself. It’s going to come to you.
“He’s still got the juice in the tank. Hundred percent.”
Cornerback Paulson Adebo has also been impressed.
“He’s been great. I think every time we line up against him, he looks good,” Adebo said. “I grew up watching him as a youngin’, so it’s definitely cool to be able to go up against him, but yeah, he definitely looks like he looks ready.”
When fans are in attendance at training camp practices, every Beckham catch is greeted by a louder, more excited crowd reaction than any other player receives. Clearly, they want Beckham to make this team and help the Giants win.
Beckham, who said he gets “a lot of juice” from the fans, also wants that.
“It’s a lot of love,” Beckham said. “Most people don’t get a chance to double back, and this is a place that made me into a man, made me into who I am. I have so much love for this organization, this city. I’ve got New York tatted on my back; you know what I mean? And I’m from New Orleans.
“So, all I ever wanted to do was win a championship for the New York Giants and just having an opportunity right now to – the end goal in mind, but stack those days, that’s all I want to do for this city, this organization, is bring one home.”
Beckham did not have to put himself through this. He has fame. He has money. He has nearly 600 catches and 8,000 receiving yards. He was, during his first tenure with the Giants, arguably, the game’s best receiver. He chose this, in an effort to leave the game on his own terms.
“I feel like if this comes off selfish, sorry, but this is like – this is for me. This is [to] prove to myself. It’s never really been to prove it to others, but it’s always fun when you can prove it to others,” Beckham said. “But this is for me, this is for my son, this is like – in our household, we never give up, you know what I’m saying? No matter what it is, you’re going to finish what you started. And that’s kind of all this is to me.
“I take it as if God’s giving me one year, then it is what it is, but who knows what it’s going to be. I’m just trying to be present each and every day, and prove to myself that I am who I know I am.”
Part of the reason head coach John Harbaugh hesitated to give Beckham this opportunity. This is what Harbaugh said after the Giants did sign Beckham to a contract:
“I told him, you just can’t be okay. You’re Odell Beckham,” Harbaugh said. “You’ve got to come out here, and you’ve got to be performing at a high, high level in a workout. You’ve got to be performing at a high level in practice.
“You’ve got to be a guy that’s capable that we can see would have a chance to make a difference in NFL games. You’ve got to be that kind of a player. Who knows better what that kind of a player is than Odell Beckham?”
Beckham isn’t worried about that. He isn’t worried about facing the indignity of Harbaugh, a coach with whom he has a close relationship, perhaps being forced to cut him.
“This is the conversation I had with Coach. Before I ever came here, he’s like, ‘You know, I’ve got a really good relationship with you, I don’t want you (to) come here, and then something happens, and you can’t make the team.’ I’m like, ‘I can live with me getting up, leaving my home, coming here and giving my best effort, and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out,’ ” Beckham said. “I couldn’t live with me feeling like I gave up on myself and I never (saw) through my dream that I’ve been chasing since I was four years old. I just couldn’t live with that.
“So, it is what it is. I’m all for competition. I’ve always been like that. I feel like I rise to the occasion. And right now, I’m just trying to stay in the bag, you know what I mean? I’m trying to get better each and every day, know exactly what I’ve got to do, get open, catch the ball, score, get back to the game that I truly love.”
Giants fans might remember the Victor Cruz comeback. After a year away from the game, Cruz caught 39 passes for 586 yards for New York in 2016, averaging 15.0 yards per catch. Those weren’t the numbers of his glory days, but he was productive.
What sort of numbers can Beckham produce, if he can make the team?
“People like to talk, ‘What are the stats?’ And all these things, and I’m like, the last time I played at the Ravens, I had 35 catches and 600-plus yards and four touchdowns. If you double that, that’s 70 catches, 1,200 yards, it’s a great season,” Beckham said. “So, it’s about how many opportunities you get, knowing that I may not be getting 10, 12 targets, what am I going to do with the five or six that I get? How can I help all the other receivers and the running backs, and how can I help this team? What can I bring?
“I’m not so much caught up in what numbers are going to be, I just want to be the best me that I can be. I want to get open and create separation, catch the ball, hopefully score a lot, and have fun. That’s really all it is for me.”
I wrote in the spring that the Giants should pass on a reunion with Beckham. I was wrong. He will never be the Beckham of old. He also, though, is not the old Beckham. He’s older. More mature. Mellower. A dad. He doesn’t seem like the young player who proposed to a kicking net and pretended to pee like a dog on the field after scoring a touchdown against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
There are snaps to be had at the Giants’ wide receiver position. Malik Nabers is working back slowly from knee surgery. Malachi Fields is a rookie. Darius Slayton and Darnell Mooney have been quiet thus far in training camp. Braxton Berrios and Dalen Cambre have been outstanding, but neither is an every-down NFL receiver. Jalin Hyatt has flashed, but that is an annual summer phenomenon. Beaux Collins has already been cut.
If Beckham can keep stacking days and making plays, neither of which is a sure thing, he might earn some of them.
