Former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. began his career with Big Blue like a player who was destined to rewrite the team’s record books.
Beckham’s rookie season was one for the ages. He finished 2014 with 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games, only to top those numbers with an even better sophomore season when he caught 96 passes for 1,450 yards and 13 scores.
Beckham had more than 1,000 receiving yards in four of his five seasons with the Giants, but after suffering a knee injury in 2017 — the one season in which he didn’t top the 1K mark — Beckham quickly fell out of favor with the organization and was eventually traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2019.
Beckham’s career hasn’t been the same since. He hasn’t scored more than five touchdowns in any season after leaving New York, and hasn’t had more than 565 receiving yards in any year since 2019.
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Perhaps things would’ve been different had Odell Beckham remained with the Giants, which is something he wished would’ve been the case, as he shared during a recent episode of “Beckham and Friends Live.”
“I never, ever wanted to leave the New York Giants,” Beckham Jr. said. “The reason you heard me talking about what was going on was because I was pissed because, where I come from in college, if we lost one game, our season was over.
“This was the organization I got drafted to. They believed in me. So if the Giants went and won a Super Bowl, I would be happy. But deep down inside, I wanted to be the one. No question. So it’s definitely you’ll always hold that. But then someone like me, I went to the LA Rams, won a Super Bowl. But still, you just want that.”
“I never, ever, wanted to leave the New York Giants.”
OBJ opened up on “Beckham and Friends Live” during the UCL Final 👀 @CBSSportsGolazo pic.twitter.com/hnMS24hAnX
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) June 1, 2025
Perhaps this revelation is the result of Beckham knowing his pro career is all but over, and as he reflects on his time in the NFL, he’s realizing that his time with the New York Giants was special.
With today’s star wideouts like Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and CeeDee Lamb finding ways to ink massive deals to remain with the teams that drafted them, it’s a shame Beckham couldn’t do the same in New York.
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