Film Room: Giants getting what they expected from Odell Beckham Jr.

This is what happened. Going into the 2014 NFL Draft, the New York Giants needed an offensive weapon. Longtime wide receiver Hakeem Nicks left in free agency, and, when healthy, he was arguably their best receiver. They needed someone who could dominate outside and challenge defenses vertically. Someone who really pressed defensive backs onto their heels. In the draft, they found their man: Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham Jr. played at LSU and was one of the draft’s best receivers, if not the best. The Giants had him, so they said, as their top-rated player on the board when they selected him with the 12th pick. He had speed to burn and, despite his 5-foot-11 frame, ball skills to win in the air. He was a relatively polished route runner and with more coaching, he could become one of the best.

But when Beckham Jr. came to OTAs, he pulled his right hamstring. He missed the remainder of OTAs, mini-camp, and most of training camp. When he finally healed, he was out on the grass for roughly a week until a spike of his cleat lodged into a cornerback’s shoelaces, re-injuring the same hamstring. He was out for the remainder of camp, the preseason, and part of the regular season, too. He missed important time, time that would have been used to develop his route running. When he came back five weeks into the season, you could see the rust on his cleats.

In Week 7, against the Dallas Cowboys, Beckham Jr. played his third career game. It showed that he was still learning the ropes.

Late into the third quarter, on second-and-long, the Giants took a shot downfield. He was the outside receiver on the right side of the field, matched with a veteran cornerback one-on-one.

He ran downfield, each step closer to the sideline until he was plastered to it, boxed out a yard or two away from out of bounds. The ball came down by the 30, and he magically separated, finding his way behind the cornerback to two-hand the ball as he fell out of bounds. He couldn’t get both feet in, however.

Those were the kind of plays the Giants feared. They knew he had the talent to make the offense go, but another thing was how long would it take him to adjust to the pro game and further polish his routes.

A Week-8 bye seemed to do the 22-year-old well. The following week, against Indianapolis, he lit up the Colts play after play despite his team being down big early. The Colts didn’t have an answer for his quickness on sudden routes. There was one play that stood out the most, when he showed his athleticism and flexibility and quickness all in one.

Early in the third quarter, Beckham Jr. lined up outside the numbers on the wide side of the field. He was the lone receiver. A cornerback was hunched over a yard from the line of scrimmage, in front of him, with his hands on his thighs. It was press-man coverage.

Beckham Jr. took one step off the line, shuffled his feet, and burst outside. He hurried downfield, well outside the numbers, still far away from the sideline. Twenty yards later he ran in front of the cornerback, who hustled to keep up, and planted his left foot in the ground, his right and his left again, halting his momentum and sinking his hips quicker than the cornerback could say his own name.

The cornerback continued to run downfield and eventually circled to slow down. He was a couple yards behind when Beckham Jr. came back for the ball. After catching it, he zoomed past the cornerback again downfield, down the sideline before he cut back past the safety and across the field for a 59-yard gain.

It was one reception of eight that game, with Beckham Jr. totalling 156 yards, an average of 19.5 yards per catch. That’s what he was drafted to do, and with more experience, he was beginning to do it often. His biggest test was the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10.

The Seahawks had the best secondary in the league, with All-Pro defenders all over. They were tall and long. For the rookie, it was not just a test of his quickness, but his leaping ability, too.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, Beckham Jr. lined up in the slot. He took one step forward at the snap, jazzed his shoulders and exploded outside. He accelerated and curved outside the numbers to square his shoulders and run downfield. There was a throwing window with room for ball placement between the numbers and sideline.

When the throw came, he leaped with the guts of a burglar to snatch the ball out of the air as the nickel cornerback burrowed in with his hands in between Beckham Jr.’s and the ball. Another big play, this one for 26 yards.

When the game ended, he finished with seven catches for 108 yards, a 15.4 yard-per-catch average. It was arguably his best game yet, even though he had less yardage than against the Colts.

Beckham Jr. has continued to progress despite an early injury. He's been what the Giants expected, quick and explosive, turning small catches into big plays. He’s also the perfect fit for New York's offense, which relies on quick-hitting passes, like screens and shallows. And when they need to go deep, he presses cornerbacks onto their heels, pulling the ball down over their heads one play at a time.