The New York Giants have a ton of excitement heading into the 2026 NFL season. After their youngsters showed a ton of promise last season, they’ve further refined the roster and brought in John Harbaugh as the new head coach.
But alongside the excitement, there is a tinge of nostalgia coloring the team, with Odell Beckham Jr. back in the locker room. A franchise icon, he’s already seen some snaps this preseason. Now, one insider is breaking down the chances that he makes it to their official roster.
Odell Beckham Jr. Could Still Make a Difference for the Giants
A first-round pick for the Giants in 2014, Beckham immediately lit the world on fire. An Offensive Rookie of the Year, he would make the first of three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances as a rookie.
His flair and charisma resonated with the entire fan base, and he instantly became a sensation across the NFL. But injuries became a lingering concern for his career, derailing stints with the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Miami Dolphins.
However, when healthy, he could still give a team a much-needed boost, as he did for the Los Angeles Rams en route to victory in Super Bowl 56. But after missing the entire 2025 season, he’s trying to make a comeback in the place where it all began.
Currently still fighting for a roster spot, he’s gotten some reps during each of their two preseason games. After two catches for six yards in the first preseason game, he upped his total to 17 yards on two catches in Week 2.
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It hasn’t been anything extraordinary, but the impact he’s had on the fans and the crowd, plus the sheer electricity inside the stadium and the locker room, has been hard to deny. But Connor Hughes believes his performance might not be the final deciding factor.
“We’ve seen this from Odell throughout OTA or when he got here for the offseason program,” Hughes said. “We’ve seen it in training camp in West Virginia and joint practices with the Dolphins and preseason games. He’s getting open. He’s running good routes. He’s creating separation. [But] quarterbacks just aren’t really throwing him the ball.”
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As a result, while discussing his chances on “SportsNite,” Hughes believed a missed opportunity in the end zone, when Jameis Winston targeted him for a tough touchdown grab, may have been costly for him.
What are Odell Beckham Jr.’s chances of making the Giants out of the preseason?@MarcMalusis and @Connor_J_Hughes discuss on @Honda SportsNite pic.twitter.com/HbR7eFXabU
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) August 23, 2026
“To have him get that pass in the end zone and miss it, that was a little bit of a bummer,” Hughes added. “But he did turn back the clocks a little bit there with that little comeback route, juke, broken tackle, and then getting down on the ground. Odell’s shown he can still play a little bit.”
However, he also revealed, “The key is how many receivers the Giants keep. If they keep seven, I like his chances. If it’s six, I don’t like him as much.”
It remains to be seen which direction the franchise decides to take. But with the familiarity with the organization and the fan base, as well as spending a season under Harbaugh on the Ravens, there are a ton of pieces working in Beckham’s favor.
His experience and locker-room leadership could also prove invaluable for a relatively young offense, which ranked 17th last season on PFN’s Offense Impact Metric. Now it’s only a matter of time before the Giants make it official.
