The New York Giants signed three veteran receivers on Monday: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Braxton Berrios, and two-time All-Pro receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham, 33, returns to the franchise where he became one of the NFL’s most dynamic playmakers before being traded to the Cleveland Browns following the 2018 season. He now reunites with the Giants and their fan base, as well as his former coach, John Harbaugh, with whom he spent the 2023 season as a Baltimore Raven.
The recent additions to the wide receiver
position could be due to the delayed rehabilitation of Malik Nabers — which is pure speculation on my part — but the torn Achilles of Gunner Olszewski is also a reason for the signings.
Beckham did not play football in 2025 and spent the 2024 season with the Miami Dolphins. He played 119 snaps with the Dolphins and 519 snaps in 2023 with the Ravens, where he caught 39 of 69 targets for 599 yards with three touchdowns.
Beckham has dealt with his fair share of injuries. He tore his ACL with the Cleveland Browns in 2020 and then tore his ACL in the Super Bowl with the Rams early in 2022. The question surrounding the signing of Beckham is simple — what can he offer the 2026 New York Giants?
His tape from 2023 was solid, and he was an impactful player on the Ravens offense; that was, of course, three years ago, and he hasn’t seen the field in two seasons. One could say his body needed the year to rehabilitate, but the question still looms on how he will impact the game on Sunday.
Nevertheless, his experience should serve as an adhesive in the locker room, especially since it appears that many players revere Beckham. With that said, let’s take a look at some of his highlights from his 2023 season with the Baltimore Ravens:
There are a few plays in particular that I would like to highlight from this cut-up by Dan Schneier. The first play, in particular:
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Press alignment against an outside shaded cornerback with an easy inside win, due to the cornerback’s leverage influencing Beckham Jr. (3) toward the single-high safety. Beckham, though, leans into the contact and creates ample separation as he stacks the corner and expands away from the numbers toward the sideline. Lamar Jackson (8) threw the football away from the safety, which forced Beckham to adjust over his outside shoulder. His tracking and concentration are still exceptional, and he displayed that several times through the 2023 season; here’s another clip displaying that trait, specifically:
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The adjustment is one thing, but the awareness of the situation/coverage is a savvy trait that Odell Beckham Jr. possesses. The Rams run a trap coverage with a two-high shell. The cornerback squats on the inside move on Beckham Jr., and the veteran receiver realizes the overcommitment and explodes outside and away from the aggressive move by the Rams. A ton of separation was created between Beckham and the field-side deep-half safety. Beckham is then able to twist his body and make the catch, securing the first down. A+ situational awareness and control from Odell Beckham Jr.
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The Bengals loaded the box against the Ravens, and Beckham Jr. won on a post-corner route against a press alignment. The slight push-off assisted Beckham with the separation, but he’s able to track the football and locate the pass away from his frame before having the understanding of space to create yards after the catch. His explosiveness is not what it was in 2015 (duh), but he still maintains the ability to find space. He’s not devoid of burst, though; he’s just not prime Odell Beckham Jr. Here’s him taking a slant to the house — something we’ve seen several times throughout his career.
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Beckham won against the press, due to his release and an over-aggressive cornerback who attempted to get his hands on the football. Still, the veteran receiver was able to eliminate the safety’s angle and take the football to the house. Beckham is isolated after the motion, leaving him as the lone receiver on a 3×1 set; the underneath defenders are held by stick routes, allowing Beckham to win inside against a one-on-one. If Malik Nabers is healthy, he, too, can receive one-on-one 3×1 opportunities.
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Above is another slant and run play by Odell Beckham Jr.
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If Beckham makes the Giants’ final roster, he will be a red-zone weapon for Jaxson Dart, and here he wins from a condensed field in a condensed set as the back-side one in a 3×1 set. Again, it’s another post-corner route, and the separation he creates with his move at the top of his stem is very impressive. It doesn’t need to be explosive, per se, although it is, but it’s the nuance in which he is able to manipulate the leverage/coverage of defenders in order to maximize the separation created. He ran these POCO routes effectively with Harbaugh in 2023:
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Beckham successfully created separation off play-action from a heavy personnel package. His rocker step before his outward break is what puts him into an advantageous position to secure the first down. This is — yet another — play where he is able to create enough vertical separation on breaking routes against a press alignment, despite not being as dynamic an athlete as he was during his first stint with the New York Giants.
Final thoughts
Beckham is not the receiver he was when he departed for Cleveland back in 2019, but he can still be an impactful player if he can stay healthy through training camp. Beckham is a savvy route runner who understands how to manipulate leverage and create separation, while also still being effective with his athletic ability — no, he’s not an ELITE athlete, but he still had enough in the tank back in 2023. Now, does he have enough in 2026? That remains to be seen — but he’s worth a 90-man roster spot with an opportunity to compete for snaps in a Giants’ wide receiver corps that lacks star talent with Nabers ailing from his torn ACL. He might not make the team, but he should be good for the room and can offer the Giants certain personnel packages that could help the Giants be successful on offense.
