Breaking Down New York Giants' Situation at Receiver
In this installment of my New York Giants position previews, I look at the receivers.
2015 in Review
There was Odell Beckham Jr., and then there was everyone else.
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That’s what the Giants found out the hard way when they had to go at it in Week 16 without their star receiver, suspended for one game after allowing now-former Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman to live rent-free in his head during the previous week’s matchup.
How bad was it? Last season, Beckham finished with 1,450 yards on 96 receptions with 13 touchdowns.
The rest of the Giants receivers who had at least one reception—Ben Edwards, Geremy Davis, Myles White, Hakeem Nicks, Preston Parker, Dwayne Harris and Rueben Randle—combined for 1,408 yards on 115 receptions and 13 touchdowns.
Again, those numbers are combined.
Want more proof of how ineffective the receivers were outside of Beckham? Take a look at the following table:
| Yards after the Catch | 591 | 420 |
| Missed Tackles | 13 | 11 |
2016 Outlook: Where Can This Unit Improve?
The 2015 numbers pretty much speak for themselves as far as where the improvements need to come from a statistical perspective.
To get to that point, the first thing the Giants have to do is establish a definite pecking order behind Beckham.
Last year after Victor Cruz went down for the second season in a row, the Giants were left scrambling to find both a consistent No. 2 and No. 3 receiver.
Randle, as the No. 2, ran hot and cold. So too did Harris, who ultimately replaced Parker as the slot receiver.
Were it not for then-offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s creativity in moving Beckham around to get favorable matchups, this group’s production could have been a lot worse than what it was.
And while McAdoo remains with the Giants—now as head coach, which ensures his offense remains in place—it’s just a matter of time before some defensive coordinator comes up with a blueprint to minimize Beckham’s effect on the game.
Simply put, the Giants can’t keep going to the well named Beckham.
Using 2015 stats from Pro Football Focus as a base for Beckham’s efficiency, which by the way was 62.6 percent for the season, let’s look at how he did in games in which he was targeted more than 10 times versus games in which he as targeted less than 10 times:
| No. Pass Targets | Reception Percentage |
| 10 or more | 52.8 |
| 9 or less | 76.5 |
Beckham aside—he was, after all, the Giants’ best and most consistent receiver—another big area in which the receivers can improve is in yards after the catch. Per Pro Football Focus, Beckham led the way, averaging 6.2 yards after the catch, followed by Harris (3.9 YAC) and Randle (3.5 YAC).
The X-Factor: Victor Cruz
The 2015 season was supposed to be the year of “the return”—Cruz’s triumphant return to the field after a devastating torn patellar injury suffered the previous October that some initially thought might have been career-ending.
It was not meant to be as Cruz, perhaps thinking he was further along in his rehab than he actually was, went and overdid it during a training camp practice, injuring the calf muscle in his other leg.
The injury was initially not considered serious, yet the days stretched into weeks and then months before Cruz and the Giants finally came clean and admitted that his issue required season-ending surgery.
So “the return” is back on for 2016, with all the same hopeful chatter and proclamations about Cruz feeling great or being ahead of schedule filling the airwaves.
As the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
Cruz might very well be ahead of schedule, feeling great and feeling optimistic. But until he gets on the field with pads on and starts going against live competition and has no setbacks as he did last summer, no one will truly know what, if anything, he can give this team in 2016.
Let’s face it. When a receiver suffers an injury to his legs, that’s not a good thing. When he suffers two injuries, one to each leg, that’s even worse.
While Cruz, who will turn 30 during the season, has, in media sessions with reporters, remained optimistic about his chances of being the same receiver he once was before this whole injury ordeal began, both history and logic have thrown up the caution flag regarding setting too high expectations for Cruz this year.
Questions
Who’s the ideal slot receiver?
With Cruz on the shelf, the Giants struggled to find an answer in the slot, turning to both Harris (43 passes) and Beckham (42 passes) as their primary slot targets.
The results were mixed. Of those receivers who matched or exceeded Beckham’s 27.3 percent slot targets—Oakland’s Michael Crabtree, Denver’s Demaryius Thomas and Atlanta’s Julio Jones—Beckham had the best catch percentage (76.2).
Meanwhile Harris, who finished with 13.9 percent of his passes coming in the slot, finished tied (69.8) with Dallas’ Cole Beasley for last place among his nearest group of competition which also included Seattle’s Tyler Lockett, Tampa’s Adam Humphries and Cleveland’s Andrew Hawkins.
That inconsistency is a big reason why the Giants drafted Sterling Shepard in the second round of the draft in April. While college is college and the NFL is the NFL, Shepard’s 143.7 calculated slot rating topped Beckham’s 127.7 slot rating.
What can Beckham do better?
As good as Beckham has been, the Giants need him to be even better.
So said his quarterback, Eli Manning, at the start of the team’s offseason program.
“Odell has obviously done great things, but we need him to raise his level as well,” Manning said. “There’s things he can work on."
Such as?
“We move him around in a lot of different spots, and he’s required to know a lot of different routes and different techniques, and exactly how to do it. That’s the way he’s going to get a lot of balls, and we’re going to put him in position to do a lot of good things.”
Manning is correct. Using Pro Football Focus’ receptions by direction chart, Beckham has been dynamite in the middle of the field but not quite as consistent outside of the numbers, where his rating is 82.9 outside the left numbers and 78.9 outside of the right numbers.
It also goes without saying that Beckham, who will see Norman twice a year now that he has moved on to Washington, needs to keep his cool out there on the field, lest he risk unnecessary penalties or, worse yet, additional suspensions.
Do they have enough firepower at this position?
The Giants roster currently lists 13 players at the receiver spot, which is common for training camp. However, this question is more about the quality of receiver rather than the quantity.
As noted earlier, remove Beckham from the equation, and the Giants just didn’t get much production from the other receivers they did have on the roster. With the exceptions of Randle and Edwards, many of those same receivers—Davis, White and Harris—are back.
An even closer look at their receivers shows that of the 13, only five (Beckham, Cruz, Harris, Tavarres King, and White) are credited with accrued experience.
The Giants know what they can get from Beckham. They have a good idea what they’re going to get from second-round draft pick Shepard. Beyond that, however, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether they truly have enough firepower to have one of the top receiving corps in the NFL.
Key Newcomers
Sterling Shepard, 5’10”, 194 lbs, Oklahoma
The Giants’ second-round draft pick, Shepard has been compared to a young Cruz, probably because of his size and his ability to excel in the slot.
In his four-year college career, Shepard has racked up 3,482 yards on 233 receptions and 26 touchdowns.
A sure-handed receiver who’s not afraid to go over the middle, Shepard will probably see a lot of action right out of the chute on a Giants offense that favors the 11 personnel formation.
Anthony Dable, 6’4”, 223 lbs, Grenoble, France
With the majority of the Giants receivers under 6’0” in height, French-born Anthony Dable, who was brought to the Giants' attention by former defensive end Osi Umenyiora, now part of the NFL’s United Kingdom office.
Dable, per Dan Graziano of ESPN, didn’t play the game of football until he was 19. He learned about the NFL through the video game, NFL Quarterback Club 98.
While much isn’t known yet about Dable, he’s not short on confidence, telling Graziano, “You don't come from France just to say, ‘I was on the practice squad,’ or ‘I was signed and then released.’ I'm trying to be good. I'm trying to be great. I'm trying to earn the respect and the trust of the team so they give me a chance and I can play.”
The Giants are hoping he’s right because with his size and length, he’d sure make a nice target for quarterback Eli Manning.
Roger Lewis, 6’0”, 196 lbs, Bowling Green
Roger Lewis is coming off two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for the Falcons, a stretch that also saw him record 23 touchdowns, 16 of which he posted in 2015. Offering the home run threat ability, Lewis is a two-time first-team All-MAC honoree.
He comes though with a red flag attached to his character; according to Rob Rang of NFL Draft Scout, Lewis was charged with two first-degree felony charges of rape of the same woman in 2012. The first of which he was acquitted, while the second of which he pleaded guilty to "a lesser charge of falsification and three years of probation" after a "mistrial due to a deadlocked jury."
Rang also noted that Lewis has had past academic issues that have “raised concerns about his ability to handle a complicated playbook.”
Despite the red flags, Lewis, who had been projected as a fifth-round pick by Rang, has intriguing talent that, if he focuses on developing, could make him a training camp surprise.
Interestingly, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media, Lewis not only received an $18,500 signing bonus, the Giants also guaranteed $21,500 of his $450,000 first-year base salary. (Per NFLPA records, Lewis signed a three-year futures deal.)
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Advanced stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.
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