His team’s lack of weapons was never more evident than in Week 16 when Beckham was suspended. The offense was impotent that Sunday night in Minnesota.
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“No matter what I do the year before”, he added, “it’s always gonna be, what can I do to be better this year”. The inconsistent Rueben Randle, whom the Giants showed no interest in bringing back, was second on the team with 797 receiving yards. Randle signed this offseason with the rival Philadelphia Eagles. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook. With Victor Cruz an unknown after missing nearly two full seasons, they used their second-round pick as a solution.
The New York Giants first game of the new season is only two days away and rookie wide receiver, Sterling Shepard, is ready to start his National Football League career.
“I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but it’s gonna be – he’s gonna be a special player”, he said. His wide catch radius and surprising strength caught people’s attention. The star wideout has been on fire in team drills, seemingly catching a touchdown every day. “Little things like that we’ve been talking about all the time, so he has been helping me out a lot actually”.
Beckham agrees. He’s been impressed with the early returns. But he’s developing, still learning and is starting to pick up his speed, his learning speed. I’m excited about these preseason games, just to be able to see guys come out and have fun, see who’s going to give it all they have no matter what the situation is and what’re you going to do to protect your brother, so that’s kind of where we’re at. He is going to make it hard on any defensive back with a 4.48 40-yard dash time combined with a 41-inch vertical leap to win jump balls. “Sometimes guys will come to me with questions, not all the time, but they’ll come to me with questions and I’ll give them the best advice that I would give myself”.
Added Beckham, “He’s going to be a big-time player”. The Giants finished eighth in total offense last season despite having just one unsafe, consistent receiving threat.
“If you look on the paper, yeah”, Beckham said.
“That is the way it is supposed to be and there are things that go along with that that Odell has had to gain his trust and I am still trying to pick those things up, so that is what the quarterback-receiver relationship is supposed to be like”, Shepard said. “I think what we tried to do with all the young receivers is throw them into the mix”.
Shepard, for his part, noted on Tuesday that he can learn from watching Eli Manning and Beckham in practice. Beckham and Manning are in year three of their progression.
Regardless the hearsay and expectations, Shepard knows what he is capable of doing on any given night especially this Friday where he will step foot onto the turf for his very first taste of National Football League action. “Just keep the chains moving and try and put up as many points as we can”.
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Shepard hasn’t been shy about asking for pointers from Beckham and veteran cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins. He’s expecting big things from the Giants’ new weapon, who is also his much-needed new sidekick.
