Former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. lit the league ablaze back in 2014 when he was drafted in the first round. Beckham finished his rookie season with 1,305 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns, playing in just 12 games after struggling with a hamstring injury to open the year.
What Beckham accomplished during his time with the Giants was illustrious, but the antics and lack of maturity planted a stain on his character. Consecutive losing seasons and a failure from management to build a competent team drove him down a hostile path that the New York media capitalized on.
However, Beckham has found success with the Los Angeles Rams this season after being released from the Cleveland Browns, the team that originally acquired him from the Giants in a blockbuster deal.
Eli Manning spoke about OBJ’s success with Los Angeles on Morten Andersen’s Great Dane podcast.
“They’re winning playoff games and are in a Super Bowl now (with) a chance to win a championship. Happy for him being a part of that.”
Manning is happy that Beckham has taken a step forward in his career and found success, preparing to play in his first Super Bowl on Sunday night. This season, Beckham has tallied 537 yards and five scores coming off an ACL tear.
In just eight games, he’s recorded 305 yards and five scores with the Rams, but his postseason statistics have been important to the team’s success. Last week against the San Francisco 49ers, OBJ recorded 113 receiving yards on 11 targets and nine receptions. His 81.8% catch rate was phenomenal, the Giants fans remember when he dropped multiple passes and recorded a 36.4% catch rate back in 2016 against the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the playoffs.
It seemed as if OBJ has put all of the negativity behind him, focusing on the future, but that didn’t come without evolving.
“Yeah, you wouldn’t think LA, drama, and Odell – on paper it doesn’t work. I think it’s just the fact that you know, he’s just learned his lesson a little bit. He’s grown up some.”
The secret ingredient has always been maturity for Odell, who has all the talent in the world but has succumbed to distractions in the past. The laser focus he currently holds on a successful team is dangerous for opponents, and the Cincinnati Bengals know they will have to limit his contributions if they want a chance at beating Los Angeles.