Will Kadarius Toney mind-bend it like Beckham?

It was seven Novembers ago that a gifted but not universally known Giants rookie receiver made a catch for the ages on national television and immediately launched himself into stardom.

For better or for worse.

Odell Beckham Jr. waited for Eli Manning’s pass to arc downward, stuck his right hand to the sky while leaning backward, was interfered with and somehow placed three fingers around the ball and completed a 43-yard touchdown catch that changed everything.

Will another Giants rookie receiver make a similar impression in his first appearance on the national stage?

Even Kadarius Toney isn’t likely to recreate the magical moment that Beckham delivered on Nov. 23, 2014, in a Sunday night game against the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. But if Toney makes his return from an ankle injury in Monday night’s game against Kansas City, chances are he will introduce himself to football fans in dramatic fashion.

And if that does happen, we will be able to add yet another similarity to the early career track that these two gifted receivers share. Consider:

Both were drafted in the first round by a Giants team in desperate need of playmakers.

Both were star collegiate players in the SEC — Beckham at LSU and Toney at Florida.

Both needed time to acclimate to the NFL world and missed time in training camp — Beckham with hamstring problems and Toney with COVID-19 issues and foot troubles.

And both made strong impressions once they did return to the field and started playing.

Beckham had 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns — including that amazing catch against the Cowboys — in only 12 games.

A week after helping the Giants upset the Saints in New Orleans with a six-catch, 78-yard effort that included spectacular work on third downs, Toney broke out with a 10-catch, 189-yard performance against the Cowboys. The Giants lost to their division rival, but it was a statement game from the rookie receiver.

Toney tweaked his ankle in Dallas and had to leave the following week’s game against the Rams after only three catches, the last of which resulted in an aggravation of the problem.

He hopes to return Monday against the defending AFC champions, and if the Giants are to have any shot at pulling off an upset, his presence is a virtual must. If they do beat Kansas City, chances are Toney will have played a major role with some dazzling catches that will give him far more visibility on the Monday night stage.

"It’s day by day," Toney said after returning to practice late in the week. "Listening to the trainers, so we’ll see when it’s game time."

We’ve already seen a fierce competitiveness from Toney, so only a clear-cut diagnosis that he’d risk more significant injury is likely to keep him out of the lineup. That drive showed in his answer to a question about whether he prefers to play on grass instead of artificial turf.

"I mean, I can play on grass, turf, concrete, backyard, in the house, it doesn’t really matter," he said. "You can play in the parking lot and scrape your knee. It doesn’t really matter the surface."

This clearly is a guy who loves to play. The bigger the stage, the brighter the lights, the better he likes it. And if he has a Beckham-like moment, it will provide an even bigger dramatic backdrop.

Toney has said he never really watched football until recently, so it’s doubtful that he saw Beckham’s play on television.

"I just play and watch film," he said. "I don’t really watch games and stuff."

The Giants can only hope the similarities between the two gifted receivers don’t extend into the latter portion of Beckham’s run with them. He was on a Hall of Fame track in his first three seasons, but injuries and turmoil in the locker room and off the field followed him for much of the rest of his stay here until Dave Gettleman shipped him to Cleveland before the 2019 season.

In some ways, that miracle catch was a curse for Beckham, creating a standard so high he simply couldn’t live up to it. His inability to be a reliable teammate only complicated the issue, and his career has descended into the realm of the ordinary.

The Giants desperately hope that will not be the case with Toney, and he has been nothing but a benefit to his team so far. But things change for a lot of players, as we saw with Beckham, so the Giants would like to see Toney's career defined by what happens on the field, not off it.

He hopes to introduce himself to a wider audience on Monday Night Football, and perhaps that debut will help turn around a Giants season that seemed off the rails at 1-5. If he puts in a few transcendent flourishes along the way, then all the better.

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”