Odell Beckham Jr, WR New York Giants Rookie Fantasy Spotlight
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

RosterWatch readers and followers are well aware of our love for Odell Beckham Jr. Not only is he an incredible football player, but he throws down sick windmill style dunks, and pulls off professional soccer tricks.

We’ve told you time and time again that he’s a filthy combination of DeSean Jackson, Randall Cobb, and Antonio Brown. We said after scouting him live that he is an electric route runner, who has hands like a vacuum. We told you that he was our No. 3 overall-rated wide receiver in the 2014 rookie class, only because Mike Evans and Sammy Watkins were of the AJ Green-Julio Jones-alien variety.

We also informed you that Beckham projects as an elite NFL WR2, or a quasi-No. 1 in a wide receiver by committee situation that lacks a large, dominant X-receiver. Which, as the Trashman points out– is exactly what has happened – landing on a team that already has Victor Cruz.

The fit is great for the New York Giants. However, much the same as we feel about Sammy Watkins in Buffalo, the fit isn’t great for Beckham. It’s windy, it’s cold in New York and we hate Eli Manning. We call him Elmo at RosterWatch. His frowny-face and red nose are major sources of inconsistency on the field at the expense of his offensive skill players.

Consider the polar opposite for fellow rookie receiver Brandin Cooks- who landed in New Orleans, right down the road from Beckham’s LSU Tigers. Cooks is a guy somewhat similar to Beckham – a prospect who some had ranked higher. He landed in the dome, on the fast track, with Drew Brees. Circumstantially, it’s a stark difference from Beckham’s situation.

We tend to hate anything fantasy that is connected to Eli Manning’s arm. It’s the reason we’ve had to move Beckham down to the #6 WR spot in our initial Dynasty Rookie Rankings.That said, it’s very difficult for us to relinquish our strong feelings of affection for a player who has superstar written all over him.

A cornerstone of our philosophy here at RosterWatch- is to always get sick on the sick players and not to outsmart ourselves. Odell Beckham Jr. is a very sick player. We’ll still make him an early target in rookie drafts for PPR formatted Dynasty Leagues. He’s a also a polished player who could contribute in redraft leagues sooner than later, especially if it’s a league that scores special teams productions- as Beckham is a lethal weapon on kick returns, and is always a threat to score. Come August, we’ll likely have him graded as a Round 8-10 selection in 12-team, 15-round redraft leagues.