Odell Beckham Jr. only appeared in seven games for the Cleveland Browns in 2020 due to an injury.
The team succeeded without him and that began talks of whether the offense is better off without him.
That talk is just silly because it is clear Beckham is an elite talent.
Having him on the field will benefit any offense around the NFL.
He is now back and healthy, ready to return for the regular season.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski obviously kept his star off the field in the preseason, but that doesn’t mean OBJ wasn’t making highlights in warmups.
This catch looks straight out of a video game.
Back doing what he does best. 👋 @obj
📺: #CLEvsATL — 8PM ET on NBC
📱: https://t.co/Sd6C5qlkym pic.twitter.com/bQgRjwif0D— NFL (@NFL) August 29, 2021
It sure looks like Beckham is back.
Always A Highlight
Beckham haters will mention how this catch is not done in an actual game setting when it counts.
Well, of course not.
He is not going to try something like this in a game when so much is on the line.
But the fact he can even make such a one-handed grab shows he could pull it off if he needed to.
Beckham became a national star because of an amazing one-handed grab in New York and it is clear he is only getting better with age.
2021 will finally be his first normal season with the Browns.
2019 saw Freddie Kitchens as head coach in what was a disaster all around.
And of course last year was the odd COVID season which ended early with an injury anyway.
He is now firmly entrenched in Stefanski’s offense and looks to be healthy once again.
That should mean he is due for some big performances and major highlights right out of the gate.
A Top Fixture On Offense
Detractors can say what they want, but Beckham is Baker Mayfield‘s top target on offense.
Get @obj back on a field at ALL COSTS.
13 days until #Kickoff2021! pic.twitter.com/2aPGNioX9o
— NFL (@NFL) August 27, 2021
He is followed by Jarvis Landry, Austin Hooper, and Kareem Hunt, with Donovan Peoples-Jones even making a case to be a key contributor this season.
We are still talking about a receiver who went over 1,000 yards during that oddball 2019 season in Cleveland.
Mayfield is only getting better and the offense as a whole has so many weapons, it will be hard for defenses to focus too much extra attention on any player, including Beckham.
The star receiver being on the field in general means a big play can come at any moment.
Seeing him making even more ridiculous one-handed catches could be a sign of more to come when the games actually count.
