When you envision Giants coach Ben McAdoo's offense, you probably picture a steady diet of quick, short passes. But that's not necessarily the case, at least not for the outside wide receiver playing opposite Odell Beckham Jr.

As the Giants search for a replacement for Victor Cruz, they would be wise to target a deep threat, because the past three seasons indicate there will be plenty of opportunities to make plays downfield.

Giants wide receiver overview

For all of Beckham's big plays (he ranked third in the NFL with 14 catches of 25 yards or more last season), much of his work comes after the catch. Beckham ranked seventh overall and third among wide receivers with 518 yards after the catch last season. His 1,367 total receiving yards ranked third in the NFL behind Indianapolis' T.Y. Hilton and Atlanta's Julio Jones.

Beckham has been remarkably consistent during his three-year career despite constant double teams and the lack of a veritable complementary outside threat. In his first two seasons, Beckham's running mate was the inconsistent Rueben Randle, who was out of the league last season after getting cut by the Eagles in training camp. Last season, Beckham was accompanied by the recently released Cruz, who was coming back from two major leg injuries.

Even though Cruz and Randle were flawed players, they capitalized on the attention opposing defenses paid to Beckham. That is reflected by the fact that Cruz and Randle averaged more yards at the point of the catch than Beckham.

Cruz averaged 9.9 yards at the catch last season compared to 8.8 for Beckham. Randle averaged 10.4 yards at the catch in 2015 (9.1 for Beckham) and 9.7 yards at the catch in 2014 (8.7 for Beckham).

While slot receiver Sterling Shepard had a strong rookie season in 2016, he was not a big-play threat. Shepard averaged 6.6 yards at the catch and had only three catches for 25 or more yards.

Would Brandon Marshall fit?

The common refrain about the Giants' inability throw the ball deep is that their offensive line can't protect long enough. While there is some truth to that, the counter is that the line wouldn't need to protect as long with a receiver that could create separation quicker and with more regularity than Cruz.

Undrafted free agent Roger Lewis' limited reps support that case, as the rookie averaged 14.4 yards at the catch on his seven receptions last season. Lewis' opportunities were reduced by drops, but he showed that there were big plays to be made downfield. Tavarres King showed the same in even fewer reps, as he had a 44-yard catch in the regular season finale and a 41-yard touchdown grab in the playoff loss to the Packers.

The takeaway as the Giants head into free agency or the draft to find Cruz's replacement is that there are big plays to be had for the receiver playing opposite Beckham. Cruz and Randle demonstrated that in the past three seasons. The encouraging thought for the Giants is that the offense could become much more productive with a legitimate threat playing alongside Beckham.

Miami's Kenny Stills (13.0), Washington's DeSean Jackson (12.8), Buffalo's Marquise Goodwin (12.0), Chicago's Alshon Jeffery (11.7), New England's Michael Floyd (11.6), Cleveland's Terrelle Pryor (10.6) and the Rams' Kenny Britt (10.3) are all free agents that averaged more yards at the catch than Cruz last season. While every player in the group has pros and cons, the bottom line is that any of them would signal an upgrade as Beckham's running mate.

Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.

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