There is no doubt that Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is a spectacular athlete.
His one-handed catches and lightning fast breakaway speed are fun to watch, but OBJ is a polarizing figure.
Some believe he is elite, and others think he has not lived up to his potential in the NFL.
We've always called it "the one-handed catch" but really, @obj caught it with THREE FINGERS.#FootballWeekNBCSN pic.twitter.com/GIFl2i5fVN
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) April 6, 2020
The latter category seems to apply to his NFL career so far.
Here are three reasons why he is overrated.
1. Significant Injuries
OBJ is only 28 years old.
He has played seven seasons, 5 with the New York Giants and 2 with the Browns.
Hamstring injuries hampered him early in his rookie year (2014).
He had a left ankle sprain and then a fracture in 2017.
OBJ suffered a quad bruise that ended up being a hematoma in 2018.
He had core muscle surgery after the 2019 season.
In 2020, he tore his ACL in Week 7.
Surgeries and extensive rehab were required three out of his seven seasons (2017, 2019, and 2020).
.@obj is out of surgery for his torn ACL.
The comeback begins. pic.twitter.com/BbSmeKBv1M
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 10, 2020
He has only played a full 16 game schedule twice in his career in 2016 and 2019.
2. Statistics Are Good, Not Great
OBJ has 6,830 receiving yards and 51 touchdown catches.
His most productive years statistically were 2014, 2015, and 2016 with the Giants.
He made the Pro Bowl all three of these seasons with over 1,300 yards receiving and double-digit touchdown catches each year.
OBJ has 16 touchdown catches in the last 4 seasons.
If he kept the momentum from his first three years with the Giants for his entire career, he would not be overrated.
It is true that he draws double team coverage so perhaps he is not going to generate the big statistics, but he still gets plenty of targets.
The 2020 Browns team was among the best he has played on in his NFL career; they did not miss a beat and continued winning through the playoffs while he was on IR.
3. He is Overpaid.
There is no bigger overhyped, overpaid, overrated, under performing player than OBJ https://t.co/9Vd6U8uXTF
— Derik Hunt (@derikhunt915) September 15, 2020
Part of what makes an NFL player overrated is his paycheck.
The Browns traded for OBJ so they inherited the massive contract he signed with the Giants.
That was a 5 year, $90 million deal that runs through 2023.
He is tied with Kenny Golladay of the New York Giants and Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs as the sixth highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.
The Browns are not getting an $18 million return on their investment with his productivity.
A lot of it can be attributed to injuries or being on bad teams, but it is still a fact.
Conclusion
OBJ is still young and presumably has a lot of NFL football in his future.
He has the talent to go from overrated to underrated in a single season.
How does he do it?
He stays healthy and makes plenty of catches.
OBJ helps his team advance to the playoffs and potentially the Super Bowl.
No off-the-field distractions hamper his preparation or performance.
All of this is possible in 2021 for OBJ with a loaded roster of stars on the Cleveland Browns team.
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Ben Tule says
Coming from a browns fan he is definitely overrated.