New York Giants

Was Odell Beckham Jr. Worth The Second Pick?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:26 p.m. ET

Fansided, Travis Valois/FanSided via Fantasy CPR

WAS ODELL BECKHAM JR. WORTH THE 2ND PICK?

Odell Beckham Jr. Is one of the most polarizing figures in the NFL. The former LSU Tiger has made what some call the best catch in the history of the league. The Giants wide out makes impressive one hand catches, exhibits wild behavior on the field and had his actions off the field questioned. The Giants were just eliminated from the playoffs and the focus is on a trip the teams wide receivers took to Miami A WEEK before the game. I will not be focusing on such nonsense, I will be focusing on how he performed in terms of fantasy football.

WHY WAS HE PICKED 2ND?

Odell Beckham Jr. was typically drafted 2nd overall according to ADP data from Fantasy Pros. In 2015 he was the 7th best non QB in all of fantasy football (based on fantasy points). In 2015, OBJ had 96 catches for 1450 yards with 13 touchdowns. These numbers gave Beckham 223 fantasy points on the year. 2016 did not see the same level of production from OBJ.

2016 RESULTS

OBJ had a solid 2016 campaign. He produced 101 catches, 1367 yards with 10 touchdowns for 196 fantasy points. That is 5 more catches, 83 less yards, 3 less touchdowns, and 27 less fantasy points. In terms of overall ranking as a non QB ,he went from 7th in 2015, down to 12th in 2016. Beckham shares many of the qualities I wrote about when writing about Antonio Brown’s season. OBJ had a very productive season, he did not disappoint as a “WR1”. Beckham finished as the fourth best WR in all of fantasy football.

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TRENDS

The issue with this seasons draft was that people took WR’s with very high picks believing that they would surpass RB’s. 2015 proved to be an anomalous season in terms of production by WR. 2015 was the year of WR’s outscoring RB’s with only Devonta Freeman and Adrian Peterson breaking the 200 FP mark. 2016 saw that anomalous season be just that, with many RB’s putting up stellar numbers this year.

FINAL VERDICT

Odell provide fantasy GM’s with what should be expected when you draft a high end WR. He delivered close to 200 fantasy points and was in the upper echelon at his position. In regards to the expectations for a WR he satisfied. Beckham made GM’s very thankful they had him during playoff time. During the three game span of the fantasy playoffs Odell strung together 21 catches, 308 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Beckham was not a success in fantasy terms only in the way that he didn’t produce what a 2nd pick could have produced if you took David Johnson (328 FP) or Ezekiel Elliot (293 FP). Beckham delivered as a top end Wide Receiver ranking 3rd in yards and 3rd in receptions, 4th in fantasy points, but not as the 2nd pick of the fantasy draft. The RB’s returned to top end form this year, rendering the picks of Antonio Brown and OBJ the wrong move. Hindsight is 20/20. OBJ should have another great season in 2017.

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