Is Rookie Odell Beckham Jr. Already One of NFL's Top 5 Wide Receivers?

If Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, widely regarded as one of the best in the business, couldn’t slow down New York Giants rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr., what chance did a stomach virus have?

Zero, that is what, as the Giants' first-round draft pick fought through a nasty intestinal virus that at one point during New York's 34-26 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles caused him to be sick on the Giants sideline.

No matter, though, as Beckham—one of the most exciting young players to hit the NFL at his position since Randy Moss lit things up for the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie in 1998—capped perhaps one of the best rookie seasons in the modern era by a New York Giant.

Beckham, who, mind you, missed the first four games in September while healing from a balky hamstring issue, finished his rookie year with 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns, all of which led the Giants' 2014 campaign.

By comparison, Moss finished his amazing rookie campaign with 69 catches for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“For him to come in after missing four games and then coming in and finishing the way he has finished: the yards, the touchdowns, man, hands down he is the guy,” Moss told Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

Beckham, who this season has racked up franchise and rookie records faster than a mob grabs loose dollar bills spilled out onto the street, has proved thus far that he’s no one-hit wonder.

Let’s take a look at where he stacks up among his peers who, like him, have taken at least 60 percent of their team’s snaps on offense, as defined by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Note: All figures were prior to Week 17 games, which were still in progress as of press time.

Receiving Yards

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Beckham began Week 17 in 12th place with 1,120 receiving yards. However, that averages out to 101.8 yards per game. (Remember, Beckham missed the first four games, so his average yards per game are adjusted to reflect that factor.)

Stack that average against Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, who, per PFF, led the NFL through Week 16 with 1,570 receiving yards, and Brown’s average of 104.9 yards per game is just a hair higher from Beckham’s.

Receptions

Beckham entered Week 17 with 79 receptions, 14th in the league and a far cry from Brown’s league-leading 122.

However, if you look at the number of targets thrown to each and the number of receptions, Brown has caught 73.9 percent of his pass targets—just a whisper better than Beckham’s 73.1 percent.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

While on the subject of targets, Beckham, in the finale against the Eagles, was targeted an unheard of 21 times in the game.

The most Brown was targeted in a game this season was 16 times in Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens, a game in which he caught 11 of 13 balls thrown his way.

By the way, you want to talk about dropped passes? Beckham had two entering this week’s game out of 108 pass targets, per PFF.

That means he has dropped about 1 percent of his pass targets. 

Hey, no one’s perfect.

Touchdowns

The league leader after 16 weeks of play was Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys, who had 14 touchdown receptions.

Beckham, however, wasn’t too far behind him, as he was tied for fourth with Demaryius Thomas of the Denver Broncos and Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 11.

Breaking that number down further by using the PFF stats, Beckham was averaging one touchdown reception per every 7.18 catches.

That's not bad considering he has been good for seven or more receptions in all but four games this season.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

A Passing Grade

So how does Beckham view his first year as a professional?

“I felt the year went well,” he said after the Giants wrapped up the 20134 season against the Eagles.

“There is still so much I can look back on and I wish I could’ve done that and I wish I could’ve done this, but it was great to get here and be able to learn and experience things, to get a year of experience underneath my belt and I am looking forward to next year with a smile.”

Based on what he showed this year, it’s hard not to believe that the Giants aren’t smiling more at the thought of having this special rookie on the field next season with a year of experience under his belt.

Patricia Traina covers the New York Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and The Sports Xchange. All stats via Pro Football Focus (subscription required) unless otherwise noted. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.