For the last couple of years, there was a narrative in Cleveland that Odell Beckham Jr. was the reason the Browns offense didn’t click, struggling to connect with Baker Mayfield. His tenure with the Browns was highly disappointing after he was acquired from the Giants, but that wasn’t exactly his fault.
He’s showing that with the Rams, already scoring six touchdowns in nine games after only catching seven touchdown passes in 29 games with the Browns. In the Rams’ playoff win over the Cardinals, Beckham had 54 yards receiving and also completed a 40-yard pass to Cam Akers – which Jalen Ramsey was thrilled to see.
During his press conference on Thursday, Ramsey explained why Beckham is misunderstood and why he’s so happy to see him succeeding in Los Angeles.
“My reaction was that was dope because I saw them practice that play,” Ramsey said of Beckham’s 40-yard pass. “And I was happy to see Odell complete a pass to Cam on top of that, both of them my dudes. So that was dope. It was a play that brought a lot of energy in the whole stadium and having him as a teammate is great, honestly. He’s like the offensive version of myself I feel like just because I mean, obviously, he’s gifted from God. He’s very talented, has a whole lot of skill set, but just his competitive nature, his will to and want to be great. And then, he’s kind of misunderstood too. He’s a really good teammate and people kind of don’t have that message out about him, but he really is a really good teammate. He’s just super competitive, and wants to be great, and wants everybody around him to be great. So, that’s just the type of guy he is.”
The Rams have embraced Beckham since he signed with them in November, speaking highly of him as a competitor and as a playmaker on offense. He’s certainly helping Los Angeles win games despite only averaging 38.1 yards per game, making big catches in key moments – like he did at the end of their win over the Ravens.
Beckham will be a free agent after this season and though he’ll likely want to sign a lucrative multi-year contract somewhere, the Rams would love to have him back in Los Angeles as part of an offense that features Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Cam Akers.
He’s proved to still be a playmaker despite not getting a ton of opportunities, stepping up when the Rams need him to. Hopefully that can continue the rest of this postseason and into next season, too.