No. 13 and the New York Giants Player Who Wore It Best

Among the greatest names to don the Giants uniform in the modern era, it didn't take long for receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. to become an instant sensation in East Rutherford and around the Big Apple. 

Coming from LSU, a school that has a history of producing elite pass catchers, Beckham gave the franchise their first taste of a bona fide superstar that they hadn’t had in some time.

However, his story in New York actually looked like it wouldn't begin on the brightest note. Beckham missed most of training camp and his first four games with the Giants due to a hamstring injury. He would still bounce back in awe-inspiring fashion to produce one of the greatest seasons ever seen from a rookie wide receiver in NFL history.

Returning in Week 5 and starting the remaining 12 games for the Giants, Beckham welcomed himself to the professional level with 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns, all franchise rookie records. 

The then 22-year-old's stat sheet earned him the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year award at the end of that season, and his catch record remained intact until 2024 when it was surpassed by another rookie in Malik Nabers (109).

The following season in 2015, Giants fans finally received a fuller version of their star playmaker as Beckham would start in 15 games and beat out his prior year's production. 

He would secure a new career-high 96 receptions for 1,450 yards (15.1 average) and 13 touchdowns in that span, and ultimately outlast the receptions total again in 2016 with 101 snags in his third season in blue.

Beckham's young career would suffer its first brutal blow during the 2017 season, when he suffered a fractured ankle just five weeks into the schedule and was forced to miss the remainder of the year. 

His departure capped that campaign at 25 catches for 302 yards and three touchdowns, but Beckham would return stronger than he left in 2018, notching another 1,000-yard season with six touchdowns.

Over time, Beckham's larger-than-life personality and off-putting antics on the field began to deteriorate his relationship with the Giants brass. Things came to a head when, before the 2019 season, the Giants traded him to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Jabrill Peppers, Kevin Zeitler, and the Browns' first and third-round picks in that year's draft.

Beckham finished his time with the Giants, appearing in 59 games and holding four 1,000-yard seasons, which supported his 5,476 total receiving yards, 390 receptions, and 44 touchdown grabs. 

In addition, Beckham was named twice to Second-team All-Pro (2015 and 2016), a three-time Pro Bowler (2014-16), and a member of the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2014.

Beckham will forever be a beloved player by the fanbase and was recently named the 37th best Giants player in the Top 100 Players list released by the organization last season.

Who's Wearing it Now?

Current Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt has worn No. 13 for the past three years since he was drafted 73rd overall by the franchise back in the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee.

Similar to Beckham, Hyatt, a native of Irmo, South Carolina, entered the NFL and the Big Apple with hefty expectations.

He was a legitimate receiving threat in his senior season with the Volunteers, notching a career-high 67 receptions for 1,267 yards and two touchdowns that stood atop the nation and won him the Biletnikoff award.

Since he arrived in East Rutherford, the timelines of the two players just haven't matched up in the same stratosphere of one another. 

Despite having a vertical skillset that is highly coveted at the professional level, the Giants have struggled to make Hyatt a part of their aerial attack on Sundays, and it's been evident in his dismal resume thus far.

In his rookie debut, Hyatt played in all 17 games for the Giants but only registered a modest 23 receptions for 373 yards and an average catch of 16.2 yards.

Then, the 23-year-old went radio silent in 2024 as he only managed to collect eight receptions on 19 targets for 62 yards and still had not a single NFL touchdown to his name.

That is not what the Giants drafted Hyatt to be, which was a speedy, vertical receiver with the ability to torch defenses with deep shots down the numbers.

A lot of that was due to Malik Nabers taking over much of the spotlight, but even then, the Giants' quarterbacks have struggled to connect cleanly with Hyatt to impact the games with his hands.

Still, Hyatt realized that his overall response to his disappearance from the Giants' offense was also part of the problem.

The third-year veteran spent the bulk of the offseason working on his game, including getting into the weight room to add about 15-20 pounds of muscle, to better compete with defensive backs trying to shut him down.

Hyatt is entering a pivotal season for his Giants future, as he must get more involved in the passing game and produce for the Giants to want to commit to their former Day 2 pick for the long term. The receiving room is more crowded than it was the last two seasons, though, meaning his competition in camp and beyond will only be tougher.

The good news is that Russell Wilson's tendency to throw the moonball could create more opportunities for Hyatt to showcase his skillset, which has been largely absent in two seasons in New York.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.