Could Odell Beckham Jr. return to the New York Giants?

After suffering a knee injury as a Ram in Super Bowl LVI, wideout Odell Beckham Jr. became a free agent and sat out 2022 while rehabbing. 

In November, Giants WR Sterling Shepard told the New York Daily News that OBJ would "love" to return to New York. In December, NFL.com reported that OBJ had a "good visit" with Giants brass.  

But there have been mostly crickets since. Would an OBJ-Giants reunion make sense in terms of compensation, stylistic fit and team need?  

Compensation

Beckham is 30 and coming off a significant knee injury. Per StatMuse, the list of NFL wideouts 30 and over includes stars Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins and Keenan Allen. But Beckham is no longer a star. His last 1,000-yard receiving season came in 2019 with the Browns.

The G-Men have the fifth-most cap space in the NFL ($41,089,480), per Spotrac. Sports Illustrated hypothesized in December that a Giants contract for OBJ would be a four-year, $42.388 million deal.

Priorities one and two for the Giants are re-signing free-agent QB Daniel Jones and RB Saquon Barkley, but money shouldn't be an issue in a pursuit of Beckham.

Stylistic fit

A lot has changed since Beckham last played for the Giants in 2018. Gone are QB Eli Manning, head coach Pat Shurmur and GM Dave Gettleman. Jones, HC Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen are running the show now. 

Per NFL.com, the Giants were a top-10 offensive unit in completion percentage (66.5%) but near the  bottom of the league in passing attempts (520). They'd value any receiver who's a reliable pass-catcher. Per StatMuse, Beckham has caught 60.3% of targets in his career. 

Beckham, known as much for his off-field exploits as on, "gets" New York. He'd be a stylistic fit on and off the field.

Team need

Clearly, the team desperately needed OBJ in December or it wouldn't have hosted him for a visit. Are the Giants still desperate? 

WRs Shepard, Darius Slayton and Isaiah Hodgins are free agents, and free-agent bust Kenny Golladay is a cut candidate, per Pro Football Focus. 

OBJ could again become a valuable offensive weapon for the Giants, just like old times. He's clearly not the No. 1 receiver he once was, but he'd be an upgrade over the receivers currently on the roster. 

He's comparable to fellow free-agents WRs JuJu Smith Schuster, Jakobi Meyers and Allen Lazard. In a free-agent wideout class that NBC Sports wrote "leaves plenty to be desired," OBJ would be a good get.

The verdict

It's a match. 

The player and team share mutual respect for one another, and there's a natural fit. It's not a perfect marriage, but the team must upgrade its receiver room.

The position could also be addressed by the Giants via the draft, perhaps in the first round with the No. 25 overall pick. Standouts Jordan Addison (USC), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Ohio State) and Quentin Johnston (TCU) could be available there.