The 2014 NFL Draft was a class stacked with plenty of elite talent across the board with many of the first rounders becoming cornerstones for their respective franchise.

Among those early selections was wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was taken with the 12th overall pick by the New York Giants. However, the 25-year-old thought he was going to be taken by the Detroit Lions with the 10th overall spot before they decided to go with tight end Eric Ebron, according to Justin Rodgers of the Detriot News.

“Going into the draft is a crazy process, I had no idea I was going to be where I’m at today,” Beckham said Wednesday. “I thought that Tampa Bay was a possibility, I thought Buffalo was a possibility — then they traded up and got Sammy (Watkins). Tampa took Mike Evans, I think, who was right before Detroit with the ninth pick. I can’t remember.

“Tenth, I thought, ‘All right, I’m going to go to Detroit,' ” Beckham said. “It didn’t happen, then fell to 12th to the Giants. I think it worked it out perfectly, but I do remember that.”

There was much reason for Beckham Jr. to have that belief as the Lions were looking to beef up their passing game to help provide Pro Bowl quarterback Matthew Stafford with more weapons. However, the team believed that Ebron fit more into their game plan as the team already possessed both Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate leading the wide receiver core.

Ebron had shown to be a reliable receiving option in his four years in the league with the Lions, but Beckham Jr. has proved to be the clear-cut star between the two as he has quickly established himself as one of the premier wide receivers in the league. It is one of those situations where the Lions look back to what could have been as he could have formed arguably the best trio of wide receivers in the league next to Johnson and Tate that could have seen them achieve much success over the last few years.

Instead, the Giants have in place a cornerstone player that the front office is looking to hammer out a lucrative long-term deal to keep him in New York for the next several years.