Last month, the New York Giants traded wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for safety Jabrill Peppers and two draft picks (17th overall and 95th overall).
Drafted 12th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, Beckham Jr. made most of his time in the Big Apple. In five NFL seasons. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. While with the Giants, Beckham, Jr.
Beckham, Jr. set some pretty impressive individual records too.
In 14 games, he became the fastest to reach 100 career receptions, in 21 games, he became the fastest to reach 150 career receptions and in 30 games, he beame the fastest to reach 200 career receptions.
Beckham is now a Cleveland Brown and in a Browns system that is budding simply because they selected, inserted and discovered a franchise quarterback in Baker Mayfield.
Jabrill Peppers will now get the chance to shine in familiar territory.The Michigan standout is from East Orange, NJ. Peppers also played high school football a stones throw away from MetLife stadium at both Don Bosco Prep and Paramus Catholic.
The 25th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Peppers played 29 games in two seasons with the Cleveland Browns and totaled 139 tackles. He also snagged 1 interception in each of his 2 seasons with the Browns.
Peppers is slated to be the starting free safety in New York this year.
GettyLe’Veon Bell is ready to get back to work for Pittsburgh.
The Giants needed help in their defensive secondary after losing safety Landon Collins in free agency.
One person is particularly happy: Vin Brown. One-third of the Grammy Award winning hip hop group, Naughty by Nature, Brown grew up with Peppers’ father Terry in East Orange, NJ.
Upon hearing the news of the Giants’ trade, he was beyond ecstatic. “That’s great man,” Brown told Reginald Calixte and I on the Scoop B & Reg Podcast.
“A lot of people were upset about the trade with Odell. But I’m like: ‘wow, our homeboy gets to come home, man.’ And [he] gets to show out! He gets to show what he knows. I haven’t even spoken to him about it yet, but I spoke to his mother the other day. So that was a good thing. Don Sperling, he’s the marketing guy over with the Giants, so he was like: Yeah man it’s good to see him coming in.’ So they’re going to do a feature on us. Hopefully they can get to the Super Bowl again, you never know.”
Brown once detailed the connection to the Peppers family in a 2013 feature with ESPN’s Tom Van Haaren. In it, Brown discussed how Jabrill Peppers’ father, Terry, taught him how to breakdance.
Brown detailed being a 12 year old and walking three blocks up from his house to 18th street in East Orange, N.J., to meet with Terry.
Brown was just as nostalgic while discussing it on the Scoop B & Reg Podcast: “Jabrill Peppers’ father, Terry Peppers, he was my breakdancing mentor,” recounted Brown.
“I used to break dance and Jabrill’s father was the lead of our crew and we had two other guys; Loc and Durrell. So we used to go around and break dance all of the time.”
Peppers is a musical whiz himself.
He and his cousin, Vernell Bryant, a talented independent Newark, NJ artist who goes by the name, Knew Era, once put out “Don’t Take It Personal,” a tribute to Naughty By Nature.
“Their song has a classic throwback 90s vibe,” Brown told me.
“You can tell they were influenced by us. And it had substance. You can tell that they’re really saying something.”
“My music is my escape,” Peppers told me during his senior year of high school at Paramus Catholic.
“That’s partially the reason why I’m so infatuated with it.
“I do see a tangible career because I love both,”
“I see myself doing it the same way I do now. Especially in college, where I’ll have more time on my hands. So instead of partying, I’ll be in the studio, doing what I love.
“But football will forever have my heart and they’ll just coexist with one another.”
Comments
Jabrill Peppers’ Uncle Says This About Giants’ Super Bowl, Odell Beckham, Jr.