CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Rumors of Odell Beckham Jr’s decline were greatly exaggerated.
The Browns’ prolific receiver served notice in Dallas he’s still a force to be reckoned with by scoring three touchdowns in a game for the first time in five years.
Beckham hasn’t made a Pro Bowl since 2016 and he’s been passed by the likes of Michael Thomas, Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins and Tyreek Hill to name a few in the ‘Best receivers of the NFL’ conversation.
Beckham was asked Thursday if his performance in Arlington that helped vault the Browns to 3-1 was his Jay- Z ‘Please allow me to reintroduce myself’ moment.
“No, for me, I have just been waiting. I have just been waiting,” Beckham said Thursday. “I know what I am capable of doing any given time I am on the field, but I think I did a jump on one of the coaches using that exact line just in case for the ones that are out there that love to hate so. Again, that is something I never really worry about.
“I know what I can do. I know what I am capable of. Like I said, just trying to find ways to keep this train rolling.”
Beckham caught five passes for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and he racked up 73 more yards and a touchdown on the ground off a pair of end-arounds in the 49-38 victory.
“You guys know as well as I do, it should have never been a conversation that he was not an elite player anymore,” receiver Jarvis Landry said. “He has always been an elite player.”
Landry got his best friend going early with a 37-yard touchdown pass off a reverse on their opening drive.
Beckham put the game away with a 50-yard touchdown run that saw him show his elusiveness as he escaped a potential big loss and weaved his way up the sideline to the end zone.
“Greatness,” Landry said. “I have not seen plays like that in the NFL in a long time. Only special guys make those type of plays. He is very special. That is something that we are going to continue to need out of him for the rest of the season.”
A year ago, Beckham played through a core muscle injury that limited his ability to practice and bothered him during games. Although he finished second on the team behind Landry with 74 catches and 1,035 yards receiving, Beckham wasn’t satisfied with his first year in Cleveland, which too was an adjustment for him.
He underwent surgery in January and spent the entire offseason rehabbing to be ready to go by the time training camp finally got started.
“I am definitely stronger, faster this year than I was last year,” Beckham said. “I am just all around healthier.”
It shows.
Beckham leads the team with 236 receiving yards and three touchdowns and is averaging just under 15 yards per reception through four games.
“He is an extremely dynamic player,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “He can do a lot of different things, and he does it at an extremely high level. It is our job to find ways to get him the ball. As you can see there, going back to him again with the second time of the game on the reverse play, just putting the trust in the players.
“We have to get the ball to him early and get him going because he really is a talented guy that can do a lot of things with the ball in his hands, whether he is catching it or running it.”
Landry feels Beckham is back to his old self, as in their days at LSU self.
“Last year, he was dealing with a major injury that obviously he had to have surgery and coming into a new system, a new team and all of these things, I think that that weighs on you and weighs on anybody,” Landry said. “He has handled it well. This year, I think his body has kind of calmed his mind down from all the things that he had going on that he can go out here and perform at a high level each and every time he takes the field.”
Beckham also credits his relationship with head coach Kevin Stefanski for his early success in 2020.
“There is a great line of communication there,” Beckham said. “I feel like it is always an open door. We can say things and there are never any hard feelings because we know where each other’s heart is at, and we just want to work and we want to be great. I would definitely say that is a great relationship and just look forward to keeping that going.”
Since arriving in 2019 Beckham has spoken often about doing whatever is necessary to help the Browns win. He did so again Thursday, with one exception.
“I doubt I am getting in that backfield and running between the center and the guard, though, I can tell you that,” Beckham said. “I am about down for everything else but that. I will save that for Chubb, Kareem and all those other guys. I do not think I am built for that.”
Anything else he is asked to do is fair game in the hopes that it will lead to playing in February.
“I want to win championships, Beckham said. “I want to be able to look back on my career and leave the legacy that I wanted to leave. Maybe score two more times, and I might have won it. Other than that, I do not really know.”
