Odell Beckham Jr. a tough act for Giants' first pick to follow
Odell Beckham #13 of the New York Giants looks on before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Dec. 28, 2014 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Getty Images / Alex Goodlett
The pipeline appears to have dried up. There are no wide receivers on the radar in this year's NFL Draft who played for Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans.
"I don't think Newman had a crop this year," Eli Manning said of the school that not only produced him and his brother Peyton but also teammate Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants' first-round pick last year.
That might be a good thing, too, because whomever the Giants select with their first-round pick Thursday night will have a hard enough time living up to the standard that Beckham set in 2014. It would only be exacerbated if, by some remote chance, he came from the same high school.
The Giants haven't had many Rookies of the Year. Beckham, who caught 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in only 12 games, was only the second ever to win the most recognized version of the award, following Lawrence Taylor in 1981 (Jeremy Shockey won some accolades in 2002).
After hitting a home run with those picks of Taylor and Shockey, though, the Giants were unable to follow up with another hit. In 1982, their first-round pick was running back Butch Woolfolk, who lasted only three seasons with the team. In 2003, it was defensive tackle William Joseph.
Other follow-ups to very impactful first-round picks in the last generation of Giants drafts? The year after they took standout linebacker Carl Banks in 1984, they selected running back George Adams. The year after they used their first pick (actually a second-rounder) on Michael Strahan in 1993, they took wide receiver Thomas Lewis.
History, in other words, is not on the Giants' side for their first-rounder this year.
It's just one of the obstacles that will be faced by the selection, whoever he is. Beckham's shadow, though, might be the biggest.
"For whoever is drafted, you can't try to compete or say he has to have the same kind of impact that Odell had," Manning said. "Hopefully, they can come in and figure things out and be a starter. They definitely will have an impact. You just have to go out there and do your job, and it's going to be valued differently based on what position they are."
The Giants have their own expectations for their top selection. They are not low.
"You always want to get good players in the draft," general manager Jerry Reese said. "Sometimes you hit on a guy like Odell and he is a terrific player, but the higher you pick, the better the player should be."
Beckham was taken with the 12th overall selection a year ago. This year's player, barring a trade, will be taken ninth. He'll be the highest draft pick the Giants have made -- and presumably will keep -- since 1997, when they picked Ike Hilliard seventh (they used the fourth overall pick in 2004 to select Philip Rivers and engineer the trade for Manning with the Chargers).
There are multiple ways this draft could play out for the Giants. Many see them taking an offensive lineman in the first round. ("I don't think you ever object to having offensive linemen added to the team," Manning said in true quarterback fashion.)
They could have a skill player such as Alabama receiver Amari Cooper fall to them (in which case the Beckham comparisons would be off the charts). Or they could look to infuse their defense with a playmaker after going offense with their last three first-round picks.
"If you draft at nine, it is a premium position, regardless of what it is," Reese said. "It doesn't matter what position. If you draft him at nine, he is a guy you expect to come in and play and play quickly."
And if things go well, be just as good as the last guy.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
