New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors show Saturday night. As its name implies, the award is given to the most outstanding rookie on the offensive side of the ball over the course of the regular season. Typically, that means the player who puts up the biggest numbers on the stat sheet.
Odell Beckham Jr. named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year
The Giants receiver has been named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year thanks to an impressive highlight reel already big enough for a full career.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Beckham was definitely a friend of the stat sheet, but he won this award for so much more than the numbers. Beckham made spectacular catch after spectacular catch all season long, and was as reliable a target as there is in the league in big situations. It truthfully did not matter who was covering him because he was always a threat to bring down something ridiculous.
The fact that Beckham was such a shoe-in for this category is all the more impressive given that he only played in 12 games this season. He dealt with injuries for the first few weeks of the year, yet still managed to come out and catch 91 passes for 1,305 yards with 12 touchdowns, while making arguably the best play of the year:
Whether he’s leaping into the air for a big catch, making one-handed receptions look ridiculously easy in pregame warmups, completely leaving behind a defender as though he was never even there or diving for a catch in a meaningless game like the Pro Bowl, he does it all incredibly well.
There was really only one other player in discussion for this award, and he deserves a mention: Dallas Cowboys right guard Zack Martin. He was great as a run blocker, leading the way for DeMarco Murray's NFL-leading season, and great as a pass blocker, helping Tony Romo turn in the best season of his career. You can put on a Cowboys game and watch Martin dominate, but Beckham has the highlight reel and it's hard to argue against him.
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