Can Odell Beckham Jr. Top Award-Winning Rookie Season in 2015?

Looking dapper in his black-and-white designer suit, Odell Beckham Jr. thanked the New York Giants and his family as he accepted the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

There wasn't much of a debate entering the NFL Awards show. Beckham Jr.'s rookie year was unforgettable. Because of that, he received 42-first place votes, per Howard Fendrich of The Associated Press.

By the same token, his riveting catch against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football was also voted as the top play of the year.

After missing the first four games of the regular season, the first-round pick finally burst onto the scene against the Atlanta Falcons on October 5. On five targets he caught four passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.

It wasn't until two weeks later that he really started to transcend into the game-changer we've all come to know and love.

An NFC East encounter with the Cowboys turned out to be a two-touchdown performance for Beckham Jr. That game in Jerry Jones' palace of football glory set the course for the rest of the season.

From that point on, Beckham Jr. went on a torrid, mythological pace of sorts. His 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns were tops among rookies.

A few years back, Jeff Merron, who was writing for ESPN.com, broke down the best rookie receivers of all time. On his list, "Bullet" Bob Hayes was No. 2.

In 1965, Hayes finished his debut season with 46 receptions for 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Anonymous/Associated Press

The NFL is a different place than it was in '65, so it's hard to compare Beckham Jr.'s numbers to what Hayes did. But one line buried within Merron's copy was fitting: "Hayes was an immediate difference-maker, connecting frequently with Don Meredith for long gains."

In 2014, Beckham Jr. was exactly that. He was a difference-maker who hooked up with his quarterback, Eli Manning, 16 times on gains of 20 yards or more.

Comparing what Beckham Jr. did to some of the all-time great rookie receivers is revealing. The way he was able to impact a football game hadn't been seen by a rookie since Randy Moss caught 69 passes for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns in 1998 with the Minnesota Vikings.

While watching Moss, you knew the Vikings had a special talent who was going to become the focal point of the team's offense. The same can be said for Beckham Jr.

He already has one of the best sets of hands in the league. The former LSU Tiger's pregame warm-ups have become the stuff of legend—so much so that Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee tweeted a funny story about the Giants star:

The warm-ups are a sight to be seen. Before the Giants' Monday Night Football game with the Indianapolis Colts, the broadcast team caught some of his best moments on film:

All of that practice plucking balls out of the air with one hand paid off as Beckham Jr. gave fans one of the greatest catches in NFL history.

But enough about 2014; it's now time to look toward the future. Can Beckham Jr. top everything that he accomplished this past season?

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Of course he can. The tools are there, the opportunity is there, and the Giants know this. Prior to his arrival, the Giants' passing attack was structured around Victor Cruz.

Since Cruz joined the team in 2011, he established himself as the go-to target for Manning. Cruz's 264 receptions for 3,963 yards and 24 touchdowns already rank him 14th in team history despite playing just 52 games.

Naturally, you'd think a Cruz and Beckham Jr. pairing would be unstoppable. 

If only life was that easy. Cruz tore his patellar tendon in horrifying fashion during a Week 6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. That type of injury is challenging to overcome.

Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News spoke to Dr. David Chao about what happens after a player suffers such a gruesome injury. Chao said, "He can return to 100 percent, but it (his knee) is a car in a car accident." He would continue to describe the knee as "never brand new when fixed."

With all of the medical advances and injuries we've seen players overcome, Giants fans will be keeping a watchful eye out for Cruz. Assuming he can get back to doing Cruz-like things, that boost in offensive firepower would make it difficult for opposing defenses to focus on Beckham Jr.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

With Cruz averaging 132.3 targets in his first three healthy seasons, it will also be interesting to see how that number changes, since Beckham Jr. received 132 targets of his own in just 12 games.

We know without Cruz that the sheer volume of targets Beckham Jr. was fed in 2014 fueled his stats.

More than anything else, Beckham Jr. has a chance to topple his huge totals because the Giants now understand that they have an elite talent at their disposal. Having an entire offseason to structure plays and enhance schemes to fit that type of talent has to be one of the coaching staff's top priorities.

It doesn't matter who's lining up alongside of him. All of the great receivers are able to inflict damage year in and year out.

Most importantly, when your quarterback knows you're special, that's all you really need. And based on all we've seen, Manning knows what this young man is all about.

In a November 2014 conference call, reported by ESPN.com's Dan Graziano, Manning said Beckham Jr. was a "little bit different type of receiver than we have had." Manning's shower of praise didn't stop there:

"

He has that explosiveness coming out of breaks, that speed. Getting down the field, the catch ability -- he catches the ball very naturally. Obviously, the big hands. He is a pretty rare combination of speed and explosiveness, with also really good route-running and being able to stop on a dime as well out of his breaks.

"

Surpassing a great season is never easy, but that doesn't mean it's impossible, even with defenses shifting their attention in your direction. Remember, talent and hard work outweigh just about everything else.

Following up his first year, Moss caught 11 more passes for 100 more yards during his sophomore campaign. "Bullet" Bob Hayes also improved on his great inaugural season, topping his yardage, receptions and touchdowns.

The future is as bright as can be for Beckham Jr. Giants fans and sports fans alike better get ready, because it looks like this guy is going to destroy defenses for a long time.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores, stats and information are courtesy of ESPN.com.