Getty An agent's comparison should worry the Giants in their pursuit of OBJ.
Odell Beckham Jr. could be a member of the New York Giants again before December is even a single week old. Beckham will visit with the Giants on Thursday, December 1, but while the free agent is the type of dynamic wide receiver Big Blue’s anaemic passing game needs, one agent has sounded a note of caution.
It’s a warning based on the Giants’ last big-money foray into the market for help at the position. That investment yielded little from Kenny Golladay, whose injury history with the Detroit Lions puts the agent in mind of Beckham’s own struggles to stay healthy and the potential similar impact on his performances.
Giants Can’t Ignore Golladay Warning
An “agent who represents multiple wide receivers” told Heavy’s Senior NFL Reporter Matt Lombardo why Golladay proves Beckham is too great a risk for the Giants: “He’ll wind up signing with one of the three teams interested; The Giants, Cowboys, or Bills, but for a guy with all of the concerns away from the field, and coming off a blown-out knee that happened in February, and who you have no idea what that rehab has been because it hasn’t been with any teams or at any facilities, it’s a huge risk. Look at Kenny Golladay, different injuries, but he hasn’t been close to the same player since he got hurt in Detroit. Whoever signs Odell is taking a Golladay-sized risk.”
For many Giants’ fans, even putting the names of Golladay and Beckham in the same sentence is sacrilege. After all, the latter was named Offensive Rookie of the Year and reached three Pro Bowls during five seasons with the Giants.
Golladay, by contrast, has contributed a mere 41 catches since signing a four-year contract worth $72 million in 2020. He’d led the league in touchdown catches the year before, but Golladay has yet to find the end zone in a Giants uniform.
He’s also had trouble holding onto the ball. The 29-year-old has dropped four passes this season, according to Pro Football Reference.
Golladay snapped his miserable streak with a catch against his former team in Week 11:
Kenny Golladay
Last 4 games entering today:
6 targets
0 catches
2 drops
Today:
1 target
1 catch
14 rec yards
The ironic cheers that greeted Golladay reeling the ball in summed up a miserable season during which he was benched for the second half against the Houston Texans. He’s also dealt with a sprained knee, one of many injury problems Golladay has faced since joining the Giants, per Draft Sharks.
As the agent who spoke to Lombardo noted, those injury issues date back to the wideout’s time in Detroit. That’s where Golladay had to overcome elbow, hamstring and chest problems, as well as a concussion.
A lengthy injury record is something Golladay shares with Beckham, who tore his left ACL for the second time in his career during Super Bowl LVI. Beckham helped the Los Angeles Rams lift the Lombardi Trophy, scoring the game’s first touchdown, but his latest setback is one more reason the Giants should proceed with caution when discussing any potential deal.
Giants Should Take Long-Term View with Beckham
The Beckham sweepstakes will hit high gear from Thursday, with the veteran starting with the Giants then visiting the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It’s the Cowboys who are emerging as early favorites, according to an executive who spoke with Schefter:
Here’s what one executive on a team linked to Odell Beckham Jr. said this weekend about a potential landing spot for the free-agent WR: “It sounds like it will be Dallas. If you’re in Vegas, your 2-1 favorite is the Cowboys and everyone else is 5- or 6-1.”
The Giants might be wise to let the Cowboys win the race, even if it wouldn’t look smart in the short-term. Not when the Giants own a sluggish passing attack averaging just 6.8 yards per attempt.
Allowing a standout receiver like Beckham to join the Cowboys would also strengthen an NFC East rival. Putting OBJ alongside CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup could be the catalyst the Cowboys need to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season.
That would be the short-term cost to missing out on Beckham. In the long-term, the Giants would avoid paying over the odds for a 30-year-old trying to rebound from more than one serious injury.
Paying up would impact what the Giants have to work with under next year’s salary cap. The figure is projected by Spotrac.com to be $51,592,624, more than enough to sign a younger receiver with more upside, like Jakobi Meyers of the New England Patriots.
Prudently pursuing hidden value in the market is the model general manager Joe Schoen used to restructure the Giants’ roster last offseason. Schoen also maximized his options in the draft, using a second-round pick on Wan’Dale Robinson, a rookie pass-catcher who flashed potential before tearing his ACL against the Lions, but should be back at full speed next season:
Every Wan’Dale Robinson touch from his career best game besides his last catch. Robinson averaged 6.6 Yards after the Catch per reception. That expanded role we were waiting for was finally arriving. Hope 17 can bounce back!
There’s no reason for the Giants to pivot toward a quick-fix strategy just because Beckham’s return would make for a few good headlines.