"I would love that," Ross said of the 3x Pro Bowler ... who played his best professional football at the MetLife Stadium.

"From the first day he got to the Giants, that was the part that we needed since our Super Bowl run and he was amazing out there."

Of course, OBJ was drafted by Giants with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 draft ... and he had a breakout rookie season, catching 91 balls and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games (he was injured to start the season). 2015 and 2016 were equally as good ... and Odell was widely considered one of the top 2 or 3 wide receivers in the world.

OBJ also made what many consider to be the greatest catch in the history of football during a Sunday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys.

However, after several seasons marred by injury and on-field drama, Beckham Jr. was traded to the Browns before ultimately moving on to the Rams, where he won a Super Bowl.

Odell spent last season with the Ravens ... and is now a free agent.

"I think his personality matches the New York environment," the 2x Super Bowl-winning former Giants cornerback said. "So I'd love to see that."

There's been no word yet if OBJ has any interest in returning to the big city ... and the team did just take LSU receiver Malik Nabers (also where Beckham Jr. went to school) with their first-round pick.

"There's a few pieces that we need to plug in that will fit the scheme that the offensive coordinator has," Ross said.

We also talked about the future of defense in the National Football League ... as rules have made it more and more difficult to stop high-powered NFL offenses.

Ross had some advice for incoming defenders looking to succeed as a pro.

"As a defensive back, I would say learn the offensive schemes that you're going against, that way you can put yourself in a position to not have too many penalties," Ross said.