Cleveland Browns know Odell Beckham is key to growth
The Cleveland Browns have Super Bowl dreams, and Odell Beckham Jr. can help them make it into a reality.
Don’t buy the narrative. Buy the reality.
Last year, star Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tore his ACL in an October game against the Cincinnati Bengals. On the season, Cleveland went 5-2 with Beckham in the starting lineup and finished 6-3 without him before beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round and then losing to the Kansas City Chiefs a week later.
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For months, there has been a narrative of Beckham actually holding quarterback Baker Mayfield back. Why? Because in the games with Beckham — including up to when he was injured against Cincinnati — Mayfield threw for 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. After that, the former No. 1 overall pick tossed 16 touchdowns against one interception.
Still, the reality more nuanced. Yes, Mayfield played better, but he also got running back Nick Chubb back for much of that stretch, while the level of competition was quite easy over the final two months. If Beckham had been on the field, the numbers might have been even more prolific.
On Thursday, Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt talked about the situation with clarity, per NFL.com:
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“I think Baker was better as the season went on, whether there had been Odell or not still out there. He started to understand the offense more and understand what we were asking him, got his footwork right. He got better, regardless of who was on the field. As I said earlier, you are always better with great players. Anytime you take a great player off of the field, you are going to have to find ways to generate more offense. We will be better with Odell, no doubt.”
Still only 28 years old, Beckham is one of the game’s best players. In seven NFL seasons, the former LSU product has notched five 1,000-yard seasons and 51 touchdowns.
The biggest issue for Beckham, both with the New York Giants and now Cleveland, has been staying healthy. He’s only managed to play 16 games twice, missing a total of 30 games over his career.
If healthy, though, he gives the Browns their best chance to win a Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history and their first title since 1964.
