The New York Giants picked Odell Beckham with their first round pick and Beckham was the number 12 selection overall for the G-Men out of LSU and now the team adds another weapon for quarterback Eli Manning and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo along with Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle and Mario Manningham.
Jerry Reese said the pick was easy since Beckham was the top guy on their board and one thing that worked out was Blake Bortles, who went third and that helped push some players down towards the Giants. The team had their pick between Zack Martin, Aaron Donald or Beckham and now they have a player they think is pro ready and can contribute right out of the draft. The team needed to replace Hakeem Nicks and now they have an explosive weapon that can play on the inside and the outside.
Beckham has been praised for his advanced route running and Reese also liked that he had prime coaching at LSU and that while in school he played in a pro style system in college in the toughest conference in the nation on the SEC. Last season Beckham had 59 catches for 1,152 yards and eight touchdowns and now he can be a threat down the field and in the return game after he set records for total yards this season at LSU.
Exec Marc Ross said that the team liked his versatility as a reliever and a punt returner and that also he was very polished compared to some of the other wideouts in the draft. Beckham was the highest rated player at the time for the Giants and they stuck to their board and the team said they likely will look at offensive line and tight end later in the draft. Beckham a scored high with the Giants character wise and effort wise and they feel he can come in and contribute right away as a rookie.
Ross added that the team felt that Beckham playing in the LSU offense was more of a consideration over the SEC, but the team said that the conference also did come into play in the evaluations and grades. Need and Beckham being the best player on the Giants board linked up for the team at the pick this time around and now he will be a new weapon in the offense for Eli Manning and he also can be a threat returning the ball. Beckham actually went to the same high school in Louisiana as the Manning brothers and that makes for some fun and as a receiver he had 141 catches for 2,305 yards and 12 touchdowns and he had 16.3 yards per catch last season and his 40-yard dash was impressive at 4.43 seconds.
This past season at LSU he had over 2,300 total yards and that was a record and heading into the second round the team could continue adding on offense. The Giants likely will pick someone from the offensive line and they also have the 10th pick in the third round after having the 11th in the second round.
