Two weeks after the Giants sent shockwaves throughout the NFL by trading Odell Beckham Jr., Eli Manning revealed who he feels is his most gifted teammate ever -- and you can definitely guess who it is.
Asked on Wednesday to name the most gifted player he's ever played with, Manning said, "Probably Odell. He's gifted. He's very gifted," according to Newsday's Neil Best. Manning was speaking at NYIT's Brain Injury Awareness Celebrity Sports Forum in Woodbury. According to Best, Manning was not made available to reporters after the event.
The Giants dealt Beckham to Cleveland for a first-round pick, a third-round pick and safety Jabrill Peppers. Giants GM Dave Gettleman claimed that the trade was "purely a football decision," but a source told SNY's Ralph Vacchiano after the trade that Beckham became "too much of a pain in the ass."
In 59 games with the Giants, Beckham had 390 receptions for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns. In 2016, Beckham received 29.36 percent of the Giants' targets, a career-high. After an injury limited Beckham to four games in 2017, he received 22.05 percent of the team's targets in 2018, a number impacted by the addition of Saquon Barkley, who was targeted 121 times.
Manning chose Beckham over Michael Strahan, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014 and with whom Manning won his first Super Bowl 11 years ago. Other teammates who shined with Manning include Tiki Barber, Plaxico Burress, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul.