Odell Beckham selected in Round 1

Just remember that Taylor Lewan went 11 and Odell Beckham went 12. Barring injury, that will tell the story of great vs good.

Regulars to this NY Giants blog know that I am not a fan of taking WRs in Round 1. So forgive me if I am not doing cartwheels for taking a WR.  If by a miracle they got a stud 6’4″ guy like Evans, I could understand that. Evans was one of the 10 guys who Wonder gave his blessing to.  ALL TEN OF WONDER’S GUYS WENT IN THE FIRST 11 PICKS (along w Bortles).  The move (which we tweeted when Tennessee was on the clock) was to trade up 1 spot for Taylor Lewan.  And the next move when Lewan was taken (after crying) was to trade the F down.  The Giants did neither and took Odell Beckham.

Odell Beckham will be a good solid pro WR.  We are not undressing the player.  Wonder has him valued at between 20-25 in the Draft.  The Giants took him at 12.  Brandin Cooks was a better prospect, and he went at 20 to the Saints.  As soon as the Jets (18) passed on Cooks, the Saints couldn’t trade up fast enough from 27 to 20 for Cooks.  Cooks in the dome with Brees, what a fit.  Now that is a GREAT draft pick.

DETAILED EVALUATION: Beckham is a very good player.  He has disappeared in games at times. He doesn’t pluck the ball out of the air as well as either Watkins, Evans or Cooks.  He has had some drops too.  Pretty quick. Pretty fast, but not a blazer.  In this league, if you are playing at 6’0″ or smaller, you better be super quick.  Beckham’s routes are VERY good, very polished.  He’s a better route runner than Evans and pretty close to Watkins. If he were 6’3″ and 215, Wonder would love him.  But since he does not have long arms and doesn’t have the height to go up to get the ball, you need separation.  He has some good double moves, so that is very good.  Another plus is the SEC.  But at 12, you trade down.  There is not a lot of difference between Beckham and Cody Latimer and Davante Adams and Jordan Matthews.  There is not 35 picks difference between these players.  You don’t take a WR in Round 1 unless he is a beast.  Beckham will be a good player for the Giants, but he will not be a beast WR.  3″ of size is important in the NFL.

We have gotten tweeted and texted as a retort that the new McAdoo Offense will not need the height of Gilbride’s vertical offense.  Wonder replies that in shorter possession routes, separation is narrower and you need the height to go get the ball and box out your opponent.  And you also need weight to to take the pounding. Keyshawn Johnson couldn’t go vertical but he could go up tall on shorter routes. OR you need the quickness and speed, like Victor Cruz.  Cruz has amazing quickness and a 6th sense for not getting the living snot beaten out of him after the catch. Beckham has a lot of talent, but he’s not a 12th pick blue chip player in the draft.   If Tennessee did not let you trade up, you needed to trade down. And you had to be ready to trade down 5,  10 or 15 picks well before the draft started.

Wonder believes the upside of Beckham is that of Reggie Wayne, but Wayne had another gear that Beckham does not have. Plus, Wayne played on turf.

We will tweet about Round 2 and Round 3 Friday night.  Hopefully we can get a good Guard, like one of the Top 3 that Wonder agrees with here, Yankey, Su’a-Filo, or Jackson. There is also a Safety named Jimmy Ward. “I like this kid a lot. He can get better.” F, the 49ers just took him at 30.