Odell Beckham Jr. is content with his NFL career’s direction.
Before joining the Miami Dolphins this offseason, the ten-year veteran wide receiver was a member of the Los Angeles Rams, where he won a Super Bowl and three Pro Bowls. He will play a supporting role to Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, who have amassed more receiving yards combined over the last two seasons than any other team in the league.
At this stage of his career, Beckham is content in a supporting role and prefers to look forward rather than back.
“I believe that we all just shove each other. And I haven’t been the best in a minute for myself at this point in my life and career,” Beckham stated on Wednesday. “I haven’t really gone there, but you could go look at targets or anything else. Thus, all you need to do is recognize your function, figure out how to excel in it, and take advantage of all the opportunities. I believe you can succeed if you just stay in the present and don’t search for anything more or less.
It’s incredible. You feel so at peace with it. I had the impression that I used to be really resentful or angry, or anything. I just feel at peace right now. You have the ability to exercise and resume playing your favorite game. You sort of move past all the business-related issues or any other potential roadblocks. I think there’s a chance for it to just be football in this instance.
With 4,122 receiving yards in his first three seasons from 2014 to 2016, Beckham has the third-highest record among players in the NFL’s history. But in the six seasons since, the 2014 first-round selection has only 3,810 receiving yards, and he hasn’t topped 1,000 yards in a single season since 2019.
A major factor in his statistical slide has been injuries. After appearing in just four games in 2017, he broke his left ankle. In 2020, he tore his ACL again, and at the end of the 2021 season, he suffered another tear in the Super Bowl.
He signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens last season after declining to sign with a team in 2022. His 2023 total of 565 yards was his greatest since his 2019 year.
“An incredible start and then just the way that life goes — things happen to people,” Beckham stated. However, resilience is probably what I like to talk about myself the most. Give me the best in the world, subject them to the worst that can happen at the highest level, and watch them recover and grow until they are standing in front of anyone who still has the courage to strive for greatness despite everything that is said about them.
I’m a competitor, so I’m just going to keep going. That’s the reason why it’s best to ignore the middle portion. A book was read by us. We will be captivated by the beginning, read the story’s body, and then wonder how it will conclude. I’m kind of at that point in the story: let’s have a fantastic conclusion.”
Beckham’s 565 receiving yards from the previous season ranked second among all NFL players with 35 receptions or fewer, per ESPN Stats & Information. He also had the most first downs of any player at that threshold with 27 on 32 catches. Other than Hill and Waddle, no Dolphins receiver has amassed more than 32 receptions or 417 yards in a single season since head coach Mike McDaniel was appointed in 2022.
Finding vulnerable places in coverage, according to Beckham, was a major discussion point with McDaniel when the latter convinced him to sign with Miami.
“He was talking about football. Beckham remarked, “We sat down and talked football for hours. “Just thinking about it delighted me. In contrast to what they’re doing here, he pulled up my film and kind of married the two. I see an opportunity, and I believe that in the end, time will prove that this was the right choice.”
Tua Tagovailoa, the NFL’s leading passer in passing yards the previous year, will be leading Beckham’s offensive unit. But as Beckham noted, it would require some getting used to a left-handed quarterback, so there will be a learning curve.
He simply throws differently, they remarked. “They said that he doesn’t really look like a left-hander because of his accuracy and spin,” Beckham remarked. “Even just simply viewing his film, he has been accomplishing a lot of amazing things. He performed well here with the Dolphins and at Alabama.
As I previously stated, I simply saw an opportunity when I actually watched the movie, sat down, and didn’t focus on the end goal. I took a look at myself in the mirror and saw a future for my profession. I just think there are a lot of opportunities here.”