When the New York Giants selected wide receiver Kadarius Toney in the first-round of the 2021 NFL draft, it was the first time they selected a receiver in Round 1 since they took Odell Beckham Jr. back in 2014.

Retired Giants running back Tiki Barber recently acknowledged some similarities between the two.

Toney has already started his Giants career by dealing with an undisclosed injury during training camp (now listed as a hamstring) and was very cryptic toward the media recently when asked about his playing status for Week 1.

Despite that, head coach Joe Judge hinted that Toney could play a “significant role” against the Denver Broncos — in production, not volume.

Beckham, of course, missed the first four games of his rookie season. When he did finally take the field, it didn’t take long before the Giants realized they had an elite talent in OBJ.

Talent-wise, the Giants would like to see nothing more than Toney mimic what Beckham brought to the table.

“I like Kadarius Toney as a skill position player because he is so versatile,” Barber told NJ Advance Media. “But one of the reasons I disliked rookies when I was a player is because it takes so long for them to get it. A lot of rookies, it takes some time for them to understand that it’s a business and there are grown men who are relying on you to do your job and be available.”

The versatility that Barber references is something very comparable to OBJ, who was a legitimate threat to score every time he touched the ball.

Barber talked about the difficult transition from college to the NFL and the lack of preseason reps for a rookie adding to that transition:

“What happens is, you miss camp or your miss time, and you get into a game situation and you’re messing up. It’s so much more complex. Usually you see in Year 2 for wide receivers that are going to make it, they explode. But Giants fans don’t feel like waiting,” Barber said.

Giants fans have been waiting long enough and are itching for Big Blue to return to relevance. Toney, however, comes into a good situation on an offense with plenty of weapons.

While the Giants certainly don;t want Toney to bring along the drama that came along with Beckham, it would be nice if Toney was anywhere near the talent that OBJ was when he took the league by storm.