One year ago today the Cleveland Browns shocked the sports world. Then-GM John Dorsey executed a blockbuster trade with the New York Giants to bring high-profile Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns.
In exchange for Beckham, the Browns send two 2019 draft picks (first and third rounds) and 2018 first-round safety Jabrill Peppers to New York.
Beckham had a star-crossed first season in Cleveland. He topped 1,000 receiving yards on 74 receptions, but he got there inefficiently. There were uncharacteristic drops, there were miscommunications with QB Baker Mayfield, there were missed opportunities. Beckham posted his lowest catch rate (55 percent) and catches per game (4.6) of his 6-year career, scoring just four TDs.
He spent the year battling a sports hernia injury that required postseason surgery. Beckham did play all 16 games for the first time in 2016.
Browns fans know very well the Beckham end of the trade. But what about the Giants and how the players they received in exchange fared?
Peppers started 11 games for the Giants in his third NFL season. Playing more of a hybrid LB/strong safety role in the New York defense, Peppers proved to be the same player he was in Cleveland — a solid starter who plays better near the line of scrimmage in both run and pass defense. Peppers racked up 76 tackles in 11 games, just missing his career-high of 79 with the Browns in 2018, a total he posted in 16 games.
His Pro Football Focus grade dropped from Peppers’ last year in Cleveland to his first year in New York, notably in the tackling metric. Per PFF, Peppers missed 12 tackles compared to just 11 in 2018, though he did force three fumbles. He also notched the first pick-6 of his career on his only INT of the season before going on the shelf with the same injury (transverse process fracture) that Browns WR Jarvis Landry played through in 2019.
New York drafted defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence with the No. 17 overall pick acquired in the trade. It was an immediate draft hit for the Giants. Lawrence started all 16 games and played well in his over 700 snaps of work. He wound up earning the third-best PFF grade of any Giants defender (Peppers was 11th) and finished second on the team with 21 QB hurries.
Lawrence finished his rookie year with 38 total tackles, four TFLs and 2.5 sacks. The big man from Clemson also forced a fumble and batted down one pass. Playing roughly the same role for the Giants that Larry Ogunjobi does for the Browns, he looks like a nice long-term starter for New York.
The third-round pick turned into Oshane Ximines, a situational pass rusher who bagged 4.5 sacks as a rookie. Playing mostly as a rush OLB, Ximines struggled against the run and in limited coverage opportunities. He figures to get more looks in his second season after making the big jump from Old Dominion to the NFC East.
The Browns snagged an enigmatic, occasionally brilliant wideout who gutted out a tough season in an unfamiliar offense while playing through a painful injury. The Giants picked up two solid young defensive starters and a useful sub-package player capable of more. The early return favors the Giants, but a healthy Beckham with more familiarity with his QB and teammates still offers a higher impact ceiling in Cleveland. That needs to happen for Beckham in 2020 or else the Giants will claim the win in the blockbuster trade.