The best-laid plans of the Giants never materialized.
Well, not exactly never, but not nearly enough. Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz — a dream wide receiver duo if ever there was one — made it onto the field together for just six quarters. They were out there for the entire 30-20 victory over the Falcons in Week 5 last season and the entire first half the following week in Philadelphia before Cruz went down with a ruptured patellar tendon.
The best-laid plan this season, again, was for a Beckham-Cruz pairing, but Cruz could not make it back from a calf injury, making his 2015 season a complete washout. Who could have anticipated Beckham would find a new running mate, a true Giants blast from the past, and it would not be Cruz but Hakeem Nicks — who not too long ago was a Pro Bowl target for Eli Manning and creating some of the highlight-reel success Beckham now specializes in producing?
“Explosive kid,’’ Nicks said this week of Beckham. “Great, great. I’m glad to have him as a teammate. Glad to be playing alongside him. He’s a talented athlete, one of the best.’’
Before Beckham burst onto the scene in record-breaking fashion, Nicks in 2009 was the rare Giants first-year receiver to make an impact. Six years later, Nicks is just 27 years old, but he is the newcomer, reunited with the Giants after spending last season with the Colts, looking to resurrect a sagging career not as a starter alongside Beckham, but as a No. 4 receiver hoping to make a few plays and help his old team finally make it back to the playoffs.
There is no guarantee Nicks will get the chance to help Sunday, as the Giants (5-5) come out of their bye with a huge NFC East clash with the Redskins (4-6) at FedEx Field. This is the first week of practice this season for Nicks, who was unemployed the first 10 weeks, and he has got offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system to learn, some rust to shake off and not much time to convince a coaching staff he already knows he can contribute right away.
“I know I can be ready but that’s not my decision to make,’’ Nicks said. “That’s up to coaches and the higher-ups.’’
Coach Tom Coughlin mentioned Wednesday that Nicks started out running some scout-team plays. Nicks bristled a bit, while smiling, when it was insinuated that was all he did.
“I took reps with the offense, too, I didn’t just take scout-team reps,’’ Nicks said. “Don’t trap me like that. I came to play now. I came to play, I promise.’’
Nicks said he ran 25 to 30 routes most days to stay ready for the call that he was confident would come. He had workouts for the Giants, Ravens, 49ers and Saints, but he wanted to come back to the Giants all along. He once was a great player for them, but Beckham now has taken over that role.
“He looks good, he looks like he’s running well, grasping the offense,’’ Manning said of Nicks, who has caught more of Manning’s passes, for more yards, than any other player. “We just got to be smart and put him in there, make sure he knows what he can do so we can put him out there and play fast. He was running some routes and there’s obviously certain routes we’ve thrown many times and read his body language and go over things. I think he’s picked up things pretty quickly and hopefully he can come in and help us out.’’
Known for his oversized hands, Nicks never made one-handed catches with the regularity or degree of difficulty Beckham specializes in. From afar, Nicks came away impressed.
“He got it,’’ Nicks said. “I think he’s a great talent. Haven’t seen nothing as explosive as him in a while. I ask him all the time, ‘Boy, where you get that explosion from?’ He works hard, I’ve seen that about him. He’s a great, humble kid, he’s a great player for this team.’’
Now the trick is to get Nicks and Beckham on the field, together.
“When I get the opportunity, I just don’t want to look back,’’ Nicks said. “Whatever they give me, I’m going to take it and exceed it and max it out.’’