Odell Beckham Jr. reclaims No. 13 and a Giants roster spot at 33
OBJ made New York's 53 after missing all of 2025. But with Nabers, Slayton and Mooney ahead, where does he fit for fantasy?
Made the roster, but he's fourth or fifth in a crowded WR room.
- OBJ made the 53 after missing all of 2025
- Last game action: Dec 8, 2024 (1 rec, 1 yd)
- Career: 119 games, 7,987 yds, 59 TD
- Nabers, Slayton, Mooney all ahead in WR room
- Giants open Sept. 13 vs. Cowboys on SNF
Odell Beckham Jr. survived cutdown day. When NFL teams trimmed to 53 by Sunday's 6 p.m. ET deadline — a league-wide purge that sent 1,184 players packing — the 33-year-old receiver was still standing in East Rutherford. It's a full-circle return: OBJ came to the Giants as the No. 12 overall pick out of LSU back in 2014, and after stops in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Miami, he's back where it started.
The number came back too. Beckham reclaimed No. 13 after Jalin Hyatt, who'd been wearing it, landed on the practice squad. This is a player who hasn't taken a regular-season snap since Dec. 8, 2024 — one catch for one yard against the Jets as a Dolphin — then sat out all of 2025 following a six-game PED suspension. He described making the team as an honor, and said the roster spot gives him a chance to rewrite the last bit of his chapter.
Head coach John Harbaugh, who worked with Beckham in Baltimore in 2023, backed the comeback. Harbaugh said OBJ had done enough to earn an NFL roster spot, called it his best week of camp, and credited him for getting better as the summer went on. Beckham, for his part, framed the whole thing as emotional and healing after two full seasons away from the game across his career.
The Fantasy Fallout
Here's the sobering part for anyone dreaming of a nostalgia stash: the Giants' receiver room is stacked ahead of him. Malik Nabers is the clear alpha, and the depth chart already includes Darius Slayton (37-538-1 for 95 PPR points last season, 2025, our WR64), Darnell Mooney (32-443-1, 82 PPR points in 2025, our WR77) and rookie Malachi Fields. Jaxson Dart is the starting quarterback, with Jameis Winston — who scored just 45 PPR points across three appearances in 2025 — as the backup.
That leaves OBJ fourth or fifth in the pecking order at best, on a team breaking in a young QB. His career résumé is real: 119 games, 7,987 receiving yards, 59 touchdowns, three Pro Bowls, a one-handed catch that lives forever, and a Super Bowl ring with the Rams. But résumés don't get you targets in September, and there's nothing in the current depth chart pointing to a meaningful weekly role.
The verdict: WATCH, but keep your roster clean. Beckham is a story, not a start, in every format including deep leagues. Let him prove he can carve out snaps ahead of Slayton and Mooney before you spend a bench spot. If a Nabers injury opens the door or OBJ flashes real usage against Dallas on Sept. 13, revisit it then — right now, he's a name to monitor, not add.
