The first real sighting of Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on Monday night happened when ESPN cameras captured him giving his former head coach, Sean McVay, a post-game hug. During the game, OBJ made even less of a cameo appearance.
Beckham was on the field for only three snaps. Out of 58 total offensive plays.
By way of comparison, Malachi Fields had 47 snaps. Malik Nabers played 43. Darnell Mooney was on the field for 42.
Even Braxton Berrios — primarily a special-teamer — had five offensive snaps.
Making the lack of involvement from Beckham more surprising is the fact that starting quarterback Jaxson Dart made an early exit with a knee injury. Beckham and backup quarterback Jameis Winston have a strong rapport, and Winston struggled in relief of Dart, completing 11 of 27 throws. Why not give Beckham and Winston a chance to connect?
The other question is whether Beckham has frustrations regarding his lack of involvement. Yes, he’s apparently happy to simply be back in the NFL after a year out of football. But, with only three snaps in a prime-time game, is he really back?
In Week 1, Beckham was on the field for 11 of 69 snaps. He has been targeted zero times, through two games.
From the Giants’ perspective, it’s fair to wonder whether a game-day roster spot is being wasted on someone who isn’t contributing to the cause. As MDS points out, the Giants have receiver Dalen Cambre on the practice squad. He was second in the NCAA in special-teams tackles as a senior, and he blocked two punts at the college level.
Yes, the Giants bringing Beckham back to Big Blue is a good story. The fans love him. But the early-season trends aren’t encouraging. At some point, they’re going to need his roster spot.
Especially if they don’t put Dart on IR and add another quarterback (other than Berrios) to serve as the backup to Winston.
