Just a few years ago, Odell Beckham Jr. was lounging on top of the world. He finished the 2016 season with 101 receptions, 1.367 yards, ten touchdowns, and a third-straight spot in the Pro Bowl, and at just 24 years old, he was the biggest star in the Big Apple. The media and masses were already comparing Beckham to the most decorated wideouts of all-time, and kids all over the nation were running around with that loaf of dyed-blonde hair.
Since then, he got his bank then got booted by the Giants. His behavior was bizarre. He was going on TV to pan Big Blue right after he got a monster contract. He was leaving the field early to get fluids while his teammates were still slugging it out on the field. He had that surreal cage match with Josh Norman. Add to that the fact that he was no longer producing like he had during his salad days, and he became expendable.
He missed five games over his first three seasons, and has missed 25 games since. He's not posting the splashy stats that would make a team turn a cheek toward his curious conduct. He averaged 96 catches between 2014 and 2016; he's averaged 49 catches per season since. While he blew out his knee at the end of October in a game against the Bengals, Beckham wasn't exactly short-circuiting the scoreboard leading up to the torn ACL. He had just 23 receptions out of 43 targets, and never came close to a 100-yard game over seven contests.
His current team, the Cleveland Browns, so long an NFL punchline, are 9-3 and on pace to have their best record since 1994, when Bill Belichick led them to an 11-5 record. The Browns may even win their first playoff game since '94. They are almost sure to have their best record since they were reborn as the Browns in 1999. The only year they've had double-digit wins came in 2007, when they finished 10-6 but missed the playoffs.
The Browns were 5-2 with Beckham, and are 4-1 since. The offense is much more potent and balanced since Beckham got hurt. While they lost Beckham, the Browns regained the real engine of their offense, Nick Chubb. It's hardly a coincidence that Chubb has led the club in rushing over the last four games and they won all four. And it seems clear that QB Baker Mayfield has a much stronger connection with Jarvis Landry than he did with Beckham. In fact, you could argue that Landry has had a better career than his electric, eccentric teammate and fellow LSU alum. Over his career, Landry has totaled 130 more catches, for more yards, and five trips to the Pro Bowl. And unlike his college buddy, Landry is always available.
And, despite moving to Cleveland two years ago, Beckham is still musing cynically over the Giants. Now he says he wanted to spend his career here, but couldn't handle the bungled personnel moves and betrayal by his coach. Is it any wonder someone this conflicted has such a hard time being happy? No doubt Beckham makes great copy, and is a mainstay on Page Six, but wideouts as talented and tormented as Beckham never lead teams to Super Bowl titles.
Winning is sexy, but building a team the right way can be boring. At the NFL Draft, fans go ape over the shiny picks. They scream over wide receivers and edge rushers, but yawn when their favorite team picks a center, or a tackle, or a nose guard. But teams that win build from the middle-out. Despite his cheeky responses and his nagging Boston accent, Dave Gettleman speaks truth when he gushes over his "Hog Mollies" - the monsters who move the line of scrimmage.
Once Beckham hit movie star status, and watched the world from the high orbit of celebrity, he was more about his brand than about grabbing the ball. NFL locker rooms are a delicate place, stuffed with hulking men with huge paychecks. But few men make as much as Beckham, and it has to wear on a franchise to hear him rip teams or coaches while on crutches. You can decide who won the trade between Big Blue and the Browns, but the Giants have a much more promising future now than they did then. Cleveland sent a first-round draft pick (which turned into DL Dexter Lawrence), a third-round pick (Which turned into Oshane Ximines), and stalwart safety Jabrill Peppers, a New Jersey native who actually enjoys playing here.
Meanwhile, Beckham will turn 29 next season, will have been paid all his guaranteed money, and is deep into the back-nine of his NFL career. A few years ago, Beckham's future was blinding. He made the most famous catch ever during a regular-season game, and folks who know football were speaking of Beckham in sacred circles. Will he be better than Owens? Or Moss? Will he challenge the GOAT (Jerry Rice)? These were serious questions.
Now Odell Beckham Jr. is watching his career speed by from the sideline. He's no longer snapping ankles, scoring touchdowns, or breaking records. He just sounds like a broken record.
Follow Jason Keidel on Twitter: @JasonKeidel
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