Odell Beckham Jr. Does Indeed Appear to Be the Real Deal for the Giants

I know a lot of New York Giants fans don't care for silver linings. Considering that no team has won more Super Bowls than the G-Men in the last 30 years, that's understandable.

But when you're on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons and suffering through a four-game losing streak, it doesn't hurt to consider the positives.

Enter Odell Beckham Jr.

The rookie wide receiver put together his second consecutive 100-yard game Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, which is remarkable when you consider that Beckham was covered for the majority of the day by Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.

Receiver	Yards	Catches
1. Odell Beckham Jr.	264	15
2. Mike Evans	249	14
3. Demaryius Thomas	235	18

Not only did the LSU product catch four of the six passes thrown his way against Sherman, but he earned high praise from a superstar who isn't usually inclined to compliment his opponents.

According to NJ.com's Jordan Raanan, Beckham said that when the two players met following Sunday's 38-17 Seattle victory, Sherman told him that he's "the real deal" and is "going to be a great player."

It's no wonder, though, because Beckham truly did look like an All-Pro wide receiver in the making against Seattle.

Beckham caught seven of the nine passes thrown his way against the Seahawks and was 4-for-6 when facing Sherman, with the exclamation marking coming on a 44-yard reception at the end of the first quarter.

One-on-one, Sherman respected Beckham's speed and avoided a jam:

Credit: NFL Game Pass

Beckham gained a step on him less than 10 yards into the route:

Credit: NFL Game Pass

And then locked it up with an out-of-this-world double move:

Credit: NFL Game Pass

Credit: NFL Game Pass

Credit: NFL Game Pass

Beckham just looked nimbler than Sherman. We saw it again when he cut on a dig route, leaving Sherman in the dust late in the second quarter:

Credit: NFL Game Pass

Credit: NFL Game Pass

Credit: NFL Game Pass

He did the same thing to Sherman again in the third quarter.

It marked the first time Sherman was beat four times in a game by one receiver since Titus Young beat him five times way back in Week 8 of the 2012 season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

In fact, only four other receivers have had more than two catches against him in a single game:

Date	Receiver	Catches	Yards	TD
Week 8, 2012	Titus Young	5	75	1
Week 10, 2014	Odell Beckham Jr.	4	66	0
Week 2, 2014	Keenan Allen	3	38	0
Week 14, 2012	Brandon Marshall	3	74	0
Week 15, 2012	Stevie Johnson	3	44	1

The No. 12 overall pick missed the first four games of the season due to a balky hamstring but has played a massive role in the offense since debuting in Week 5.

He caught four of the five passes he was targeted on and picked up his first career touchdown that week against the Atlanta Falcons, earned his first career start the following week and has been targeted 8.7 times per game since becoming the focal point of the offense with veteran Victor Cruz sidelined for the last three games.

Despite the fact he's played on 308 of a possible 640 snaps this season, PFF grades Beckham as the second-best offensive player (subscription required) on the roster and the 14th-best wide receiver in the NFL.

He's caught 71.4 percent of the passes quarterback Eli Manning has thrown his way, but that rate has grown to 75 percent in the last two weeks.

Against two reigning division champions in Seattle and the Indianapolis Colts, that's a big deal.

He's also yet to drop a pass on 35 targets—only four other receivers with 30-plus targets can say that—and he had a pair of catches on 20-plus-yard throws in Week 10. The Seahawks don't give up many of those, but the rookie got them twice.

The first came on the Sherman double move, and the second came when the Giants showed off Beckham's versatility by moving him into the slot early in the second quarter.

There, in one-on-one coverage against the inexperienced Marcus Burley, Beckham ran a perfect 25-yard corner route. The coverage remained tight, but he made the catch anyway to set up 1st-and-goal.

It was a clutch play, but that shouldn't surprise anybody anymore. Beckham has become reliable beyond his years, which is evidenced by the fact that he's caught nine of the 11 balls thrown his way on third down this season:

Receiver	Targets	Catches	Rate
1. Preston Parker	14	12	85.7%
2. Mike Evans	13	11	84.6%
3. Jarius Wright	12	10	83.3%
4. Odell Beckham Jr.	11	9	81.8%
5. Eric Decker	23	18	78.3%

He's been superb in the red zone as well:

Receiver	Targets	Catches	Rate
1. Emmanuel Sanders	11	10	90.9%
2. Odell Beckham Jr.	7	6	85.7%
2. Andre Roberts	7	6	85.7%
2. Jarvis Landry	7	6	85.7%
2. Golden Tate	7	6	85.7%

There's a lot of pressure on Beckham. Not only is he the team's highest draft pick since it took Philip Rivers fourth overall 11 years ago before flipping Rivers to the San Diego Chargers for Manning, but he's also had to prove that he's durable enough to be relied upon while trying to fill Cruz's clown-sized shoes way earlier than he was supposed to.

But right now, at the age of 22, he's killing it.

That might be the No. 1 reason why the Giants should remain cautiously optimistic about their future on offense, despite being 3-6 entering Week 11 for the second year in a row.

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon