How difficult will things be without Odell Beckham?

It will be no surprise if and when Eli’s former top target Odell Beckham Jr. is brought up on Monday. This surprising trade in March sent shock waves through the entire Giants organization and fan base leaving most blindsided and some outraged by the move.

Beckham put up historic numbers with Manning throwing to him over the last five seasons. In 59 games, Beckham caught 390 passes for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns.

Although it is easy to get caught up in his electrifying talent, the Giants only made one playoff appearance during Beckham’s tenure in New York. This was in no way his fault, but a change of scenery could be the best for both sides due to the fact that the Giants seem to be trying to go back to their old school philosophy of “ground and pound” football with Saquan Barkley leading the charge on offense.

While it is clear that Manning will undeniably miss his No. 1 receiver this year, the offense did show promise at the end of last season while Beckham was on the injured list. With a game plan centered around Barkley, tight end and vertical threat Evan Engram, and newly extended receiver Sterling Shepard, the offense put up a combined 102 points in their final four games.

Gettleman made it a priority to retain all of the complementary pieces of his offense from the second half last season with the likes of Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler, Russell Shepard, and Scott Simonson. Tight end Rhett Ellison will also be back for another season, along with the newly signed veteran Golden Tate.

Despite the fact that Beckham’s star numbers are irreplaceable, the Giants have a lot more offensive talent than they have been given credit for and will most likely continue to add to it by looking to pickup a big bodied wideout in this upcoming draft. This will only help smooth the transition for Manning and this offensive unit in 2019 with the departure of Beckham.