Tom Coughlin’s patience is wearing thin with injured rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The electric wide receiver from LSU, the Giants’ first-round pick (12th overall), has been out since Tuesday — the first practice of training camp — because of a slight hamstring strain.
When asked if he’s disappointed, Coughlin said: “It’s more than that. We’re trying to put a team together. We saw too much of that in the spring.”
Beckham, who also missed time in the spring because of a hamstring, is progressing. He was in full uniform — pads and helmet included — and fielded punts on Sunday, but he spent a large part of the day with the jugs machine, his best friend so far with the Giants. Coughlin believes Beckham, who wowed the crowd with a one-handed catch of a punt, is close to fully participating in practice. But he has yet to be cleared by team doctors.
“He actually looks pretty good out there, moving around, catching the ball,” Coughlin said. “He doesn’t favor anything. I’m just hoping it’s a real short amount of time.”
Through five practices, rookie linebacker Devon Kennard has been one of the biggest surprises of training camp. A fifth-rounder from USC, Kennard had another good day on Sunday, flattening running back David Wilson and nearly sacking backup quarterback Ryan Nassib. He took reps at linebacker and defensive end.
“He’s had some good practices here,” Coughlin said. “He’s got roles. There’s special teams, he’s playing defense, he’s getting a lot of work, a lot of attention. He seems to be a strong kid. He’s out there every day. It’s a good thing.”
Coughlin has been encouraged by left tackle Will Beatty, who suffered a broken right leg in last year’s season finale against the Redskins and was expected to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list. He’s been a full participant from the jump.
“As I’ve been saying all along, he’s actually shown more beyond than he was supposed to be able to do from the day he got here,” Coughlin said. “As far as I know there are no issues. All he’s done is keep working and keep working.”
Rookie tight end Xavier Grimble suffered a slight hamstring strain a few days ago, which remains a problem — he spent part of practice off to the side with a trainer — and return specialist Trindon Holliday tweaked “something,” Coughlin said, and had a wrap on his right knee/leg at one point during practice. Neither appears to be serious. … Practice drew a training camp-high of 3,552 fans. … It was the first day with pads.