OBJ’s Road To Redemption

After tearing his ACL in Super Bowl 56, Odell Beckham Jr. was released by the Las Vegas Rams and put into free agency, where he is waiting to be acquired once rehabilitated. In the 2021 season, according to StatMuse, OBJ had 27 catches for 305 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in 8 games for the Rams as a wide receiver. As a team the Rams went 12-5, winning the NFC championship then winning the Super Bowl 23-20 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Odell was coming out of High School as a 4 star rating according to 247Sports, and was awarded a scholarship to 22 different colleges. Selecting LSU where his mom and dad both attended as athletes, he played for three seasons from 2011 to ’13. Starting  as a freshman Odell and the LSU Tigers reached the championship and lost to Alabama 21-0. Odell soon became a star continuing through his college years he was awarded All-SEC first team as a junior in 2013 after recording 1,152 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 59 receptions. Then declaring for the draft his senior year in 2014.

Entering the draft Odell was an early round prospect with given combine score of 6.4 out of 8 according to Next Gen Stats. With in the first round on the 12th pick Odell Beckham Jr. was selected to the New York Giants in the 2014 draft. Odell had an impressive rookie season with the Giants with being the fourth rookie in NFL history to have at least 1,300 receiving yards in a season, and the only rookie to have at least 90 receptions and 10 receiving touchdowns in a season.

Being target by MVP Eli Manning for the his early years in the NFL, Odell began to be accepted as a weapon to stop to for all opposing teams. Staying with the giants for another 4 years Odell was starting to have emotional problems on and off the field with fights with players and objects. With his stats beginning to decline and a young team the thought of leaving was arising for Odell. With Odell’s best friend from college wide receiver Jarvis Landry being traded from the Dolphins to Browns Odell knew it was his time to leave as well and join him. With a great trade for the Giants being receiving a first- and third-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, along with safety Jabrill Peppers. What was thought to be a game changer for the Browns turned out to be a waste after many injuries to Odell. This resulted in 29 games played in almost three years before being cut by the Browns and picked up by the Rams through Free Agency.

Today, being outside the NFL for a year in recovery, Odell is ready to re-enter. With many NFL teams being interested in OBJ, official visits have been created for the Cowboys, Giants, and Bills on the first week of December. With having connections with the Cowboys through Jerry Jones showing great passion, bleacher report states Jones said to OBJ on saying “Very competitive….. Feels good about himself. I think he breeds confidence but yet (is) very, very compatible”.

With the Giants, Odell had already been with the organization for his first 5 years in the NFL with many connections already existing and a new head coach Brian Daboll offering a new start for OBJ. In the Bills the team his a very likely Super Bowl contender and top quarterback Josh Allen firing the ball. The final decision should be announced soon with Odell being projected to play in week 14 of the NFL and becoming a spark for the playoffs for teams needing another threat to tear apart its competition.