The New York Giants are heading into offseason workouts feeling good about their draft class for 2014 and players like Odell Beckham, Andre Williams, Jay Bromley and Weston Richburg all could start contributing early in the season, with Beckham and Williams likely being used as replacements for Hakeem Nicks and David Wilson in the offense.
The Giants struggled on both sides of the ball last season while finishing 7-9 and missing the playoffs for the second straight season after winning the Super Bowl and that gave general manager Jerry Reese urgency and pressure to have a solid draft with no "misses" on any of his picks. The Giants may have reached a bit for some players, including Beckham and Bromley, but with so many holes to fill and the way the team performed last season, Reese had to make sure that he brought in players that could get on the field this season.
Beckham is one of the most explosive players from their draft class and some scouts said that it would have not been a surprise if Beckham was drafted before Mike Evans and while that did not happen, it says a lot about the LSU receiver that scouts saw that in him. Beckham and Evans are different sized receivers, but each have deep threat ability and Beckham comes in after making 59 catches for 1,152 yards and eight touchdowns with the Tigers and he also was an impact player on special teams. Reese wanted value out of the 12th pick in the first round and he got that with Beckham, as he can contribute in three phases of the game on offense, kick returns and on punt returns.
Beckham had a 109-yard return off of a missed field goal at LSU that was a fantastic highlight and it showed how fast he can be when he is out in space. While he is not as big as Hakeem Nicks, Beckham is a polished route runner and a sure handed receiver and that could be a big boost for Eli Manning as Ben McAdoo takes over the offense. McAdoo was the quarterbacks coach for the Packers and now he is taking over an offense for the first time and Beckham could be a big part since he likes to use three receiver sets and he could be the third option behind Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle.
Reese did not make any trades in the draft and he used a seventh round pick during the season to acquire Jon Beason and that ended up working out, as the team signed him to a contract this offseason after he became a free agent. Richburg could end up starting right away on the offensive line and that is why he was selected, while Andre Williams could be an impact player after being drafted in the fourth round out of Boston College. Tom Coughlin and Reese were surprised that Williams lasted until the third day and he was the leading rusher in the nation last season with over 2,100 yards on the ground.