What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

WR Odell Beckham, Jr., BAL (2 Viewers)

He’s been getting a lot of crap lately, but he didn’t stink last year as bad as people say. But I’m going to wipe the slate clean and flush last year down the can, personally. Full steam ahead! 

 
Jesus H, I keep coming in here expecting some new insight into this years production or beat writer updates...LOL.

But seriously, I am thinking about benching him for Hollywood this week, Ravens matchup is a bit scary and I'd like to see how the offense looks.  He was nursing an injury all last year, right?

 
Odell Beckham Jr. A WR2 In Week 1

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will take on a tough Baltimore Ravens Defense in a road game to kick off the season in Week 1. Beckham squared off against Baltimore twice in 2019, posting two catches for 20 yards in their first meeting and four catches for 44 yards and a score in their rematch. The Ravens boasted a strong secondary in 2019 and the Cleveland offense that is expected to be run-heavy under new head coach Kevin Stefanski. For both of those reasons, treat OBJ as a low-end WR2 for his matchup in Week 1.--Matt Terelle - RotoBaller

 
OBJs burned a lot of us in recent years, but his talent is unquestionable. In fairness, last year he was hurt most of the season, so his lack of production can be somewhat excused. Supposedly in great shape, this could be a bounce back season.  Those getting him in the 3rd or later could reap big dividends.

 
2020 Fantasy Football: Using advanced metrics to identify five situations worth your attention

Excerpt:

4 - Odell Beckham Jr.’s route distribution

Much has been made of the health aspect that derailed the 2019 version of Odell Beckham Jr. but let’s not excuse the deplorable coaching. The inability to adjust to what this offense was, not what Freddie Kitchens and co. wanted it to be, really stood out. 

The Browns overused Beckham as a vertical receiver, never assigning him enough layup routes despite the offensive line’s inability to pass protect and his own compromised state. In 2019, just 34 of Beckham’s targets came on routes classified as a flat, slant, screen, or crossing pattern (25.5 percent of his targets). That was compared to 46 (37.1 percent) targets on such patterns in 12 games with the Giants in 2018 and 49 (29 percent) in his excellent 2016 season. As Eli Manning declined, the Giants wisely gave Beckham more layups to produce on his own. The Browns just never altered their original plan for the gifted receiver.

The Vikings under Kevin Stefanski made things simple for Kirk Cousins and will likely take a similar approach for Baker Mayfield. A revitalized plan for Beckham’s route assignments will lead to improved raw stats for both players.

 
🤮

I was lucky enough to watch most of this game, ugh.  Just terrible.  Forced targets, Landry always seems to be open while beckham is smothered and getting balls tossed over his head.  Im about ready to sell OBJ, have had him for 5 years straight and am just plain sick of it.

 
🤮

I was lucky enough to watch most of this game, ugh.  Just terrible.  Forced targets, Landry always seems to be open while beckham is smothered and getting balls tossed over his head.  Im about ready to sell OBJ, have had him for 5 years straight and am just plain sick of it.
Frustrating for sure. But the Ravens pass defense is elite. Going back to around the middle of the year last year when they added Peters and Jimmy Smith returned from injury they completely blanketed most passing attacks. And it’s probably better this year with the return of Tavon Young and an upgraded pass rush more than offsetting the loss of Earl Thomas. This was Odell’s toughest matchup of the year. 
 

His schedule looks extremely enticing going forward. Bengals (2), Jags, Skins, Colts, Dallas, Raiders, Jets, Giants. Only shut down corners are Humphrey again and Slay for the Eagles. Only defenses that project to be good at all are Bmore again, Pitt, and Tenn.

 
They're trying their best to force him the ball but it sure looks to me like he either doesn't care or is completely unfocused during the game. Few more games like this and a few more losses I bet obj mentally checks out for the rest of the season.

 
They're trying their best to force him the ball but it sure looks to me like he either doesn't care or is completely unfocused during the game. Few more games like this and a few more losses I bet obj mentally checks out for the rest of the season.
I don't see this at all. Other than the drop, i see a qb that can't throw accurately. Beckham is a headcase, but hes a hyper-competitive headcase.

 
He’s always been a guy who has needed to be massaged so to speak.  But he’s still an elite talent and CLE’s inability to really even scratch the surface of what they could be getting from him exemplifies why they are who they are.

 
Did I not do his update? Weird, I covered the CLE-BAL game:
 

Odell Beckham caught 3-of-10 targets for 22 yards in the Browns' Week 1 loss to the Ravens.

Beckham led all Browns players with 10 targets and posted a 25.6% target share. Baker Mayfield struggled to hit Beckham on a number of deep passes. Beckham drew back-to-back pass interference calls on Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey in the Browns opening drive of the second half. He drew a holding call on Tavon Young a few players later but the drive ultimately stalled out. The game was not as bad as the bottom line suggests for Beckham but he'll need to do more than draw penalties for the Browns offense turn things around. The Browns get an easier matchup versus the Bengals defense next week. Beckham will be a high-upside WR2 based on his target total from Week 1.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wonder if Baker Mayfield dislikes Beckham?  Or feeling an immense pressure to target him often to justify Browns' trade decision last year.

 
When OBJ was elite, it was with Eli in the twilight of his career. If Mayfield and the Browns can't replicate that level of play, that's not good. If they can, maybe OBJ isn't elite anymore?

 
I think Beckham suffers from a similar phenomenon that Josh Gordon suffers from (not comparing the two directly).

They were SO special at a point that you keep banking that will resurface and that this is the year.  Fact is, he's just not ever going to be that guy he was in 2014 and 2015.  Robert Woods is a better WR than he is right now.  He just isn't what you drafted him hoping he'll be.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Robert Woods is a better WR than he is right now.  He just isn't what you drafted him hoping he'll be.
Ah, no.  Clearly there's some issue in the Mayfield to OBJ connection, but let's not start putting decent starting wideouts ahead of Beckham.

I remember some of that same type of talk regarding Randy Moss when he was with the Raiders.  Situations change, but the elite talent usually finds a way to reemerge.  So will OBJ.

 
Baker Mayfield says he didn’t force ball to Odell Beckham Jr.; ’it’s not false hopes’ offense will improve
 

Excerpts:

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Baker Mayfield insists he didn’t force-feed Odell Beckham Jr. during Sunday’s 38-6 loss to the Ravens, and he’s confident the offense will improve.

"There were a lot of one on ones [with Beckham], and we take our one-on-one matchups,'' Mayfield said. “I trust those guys, and that’s what they’re paid to do is one-on-one plays. That’s a certain thing if my reads are taking me there ... but that is a one-on-one matchup.”

Mayfield and Beckham, who get back at it Thursday night against the Bengals, connected on only three of 10 targets for 23 yards, tying Beckham’s second-lowest single-game yardage total. 

Meanwhile, new Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins caught a career-high 14 passes from second-year quarterback Kyler Murray in their 24-20 over the 49ers. So Beckham’s argument that he and Mayfield just need more game reps together might not hold water.

In Mayfield’s view, it’s a three-pronged attack: him, Kevin Stefanski and Beckham all doing the right things. Stefanski must make the right calls, Mayfield the right read and an accurate pass; and Beckham running a precise route and winning his matchups.

“I think we had some great one-on-one opportunities on some of those passes from Sunday but just did not connect,” Mayfield said. "Some of those were the penalties, the grabs and the pass interference that we talked about. Some were just a little bit of miscommunication or a little overthrow. We’re working on that so we will get it fixed.”

Mayfield, who threw to Beckham six times on the opening possession of the second half — with no completions but three Ravens penalties drawn by Beckham — admitted the situation must be right even if Beckham is singled up. In Baltimore, Pro Bowlers Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters won their share of battles with Beckham.

"It has to come naturally,'' Mayfield said. "Obviously, you gameplan and you scheme up things to get the ball in your playmakers' hands, but when it comes to game time, they’re going to give us certain looks that might take that away. We had a couple plays for him early on, and the Ravens did a good job of taking that away so we had to go through the reads and get the ball into other guys' hands.''

He acknowledged that his eyes get wide when he sees his three-time Pro Bowl wideout in man.

"Yeah, that’s when the alert goes off in your head that we have a one-on-one with him and you want to get him the ball,'' he said. “But it has to be the right scenario and the right situation for us to do that.”

Mayfield and Beckham are still getting on the same page in an offense based on timing routes. But they only had one practice this week to rep it.

"Short week, you can’t nearly get the physical work as to the standard week,'' he said. “It’s more of a mental thing. ‘Hey, here in this look, I am expecting you to be here.’ We have to trust those things and go out there and be on the same page.”


Stefanski would like to get Beckham involved early, “but it’s hard to get everybody a touch early. We’re mindful of every one of our players. ... Sometimes the game flows differently.''

He explained that “we give the quarterbacks very black and white reads. That’s what you have to do with coaching these guys. It’s not every single play that starts with Odell. There are plenty of plays that start with him, but we make sure that we coach the quarterback on the reads, and the ball goes where the defense dictates based on the read.”

Beckham made no promises about what will happen Thursday night.

"At this time, you’re just kind of taking it one day at a time,'' he said. “It’s a short week so we’re kind of flushing [the loss] and moving on. Call it a mulligan, whatever you want to call it, and just keep pushing.”

 
Ah, no.  Clearly there's some issue in the Mayfield to OBJ connection, but let's not start putting decent starting wideouts ahead of Beckham.

I remember some of that same type of talk regarding Randy Moss when he was with the Raiders.  Situations change, but the elite talent usually finds a way to reemerge.  So will OBJ.
So, Woods' last 2 QB's were Jared Goff and Tyrod Taylor.  Beckham has had Baker Mayfield and Eli Manning.  The last time Beckham had a better full season than Woods was 2016.

Sorry.

 
The Ravens have a shutdown secondary this year.  I wouldn’t read much into week one.  Week two will give us a better glimpse...
👆 This ☝️

Last year Marlon Humphrey clamped down OBJ in Baltimore when he only caught 2 of 7 passes for 20 yards and no TDs.  They got into a scuffle that made headlines as it 'appeared' like Humphrey grabbed OBJ by the neck and choked him  PIC

OBJ got some revenge and came back in the second game in Cleveland to snag 4 of 6 for 44 yards and 1 TD so I expect he'll come back in the rematch and that he will get going because of  >>>>

>>>   this 👇

--------------

NFL Update@MySportsUpdate

#Browns WR Jarvis Landry did not practice today due to a hip injury. Not ideal on a short week.

----------------

Jarvis is incredibly durable so I expect he'll play but 'likely' won't get as many targets as he got the first week if he's banged up which should shuffle a couple more OBJ's way.

 
Deepster said:
So, Woods' last 2 QB's were Jared Goff and Tyrod Taylor.  Beckham has had Baker Mayfield and Eli Manning.  The last time Beckham had a better full season than Woods was 2016.

Sorry.
We'll see.  If OBJ was playing in Sean McVay's offense I suspect we wouldn't be having this conversation.  Freddie Kitchen happens, now another new offense.

Also, Mayfield had 7 passes batted down week 1 and his mechanics are still all over the place.  He may just not be good enough to be an above average NFL passer, which could significantly ding OBJ's value in 2020.  Either way, the Browns passing offense has the next month to produce or they may become a write-off.  If they can't do it with that schedule (v CIN, v WAS, @ DAL, v IND) I'll be heading to your side of this debate.

 
I’m on the fence here. OBJ had a magical run. His speed & wiggle made him un-coverable. He’d bust a double move leaving defenders in the dust.

I just don’t see that guy out there. I understand Mayfield isn’t the 2nd coming of Montana, but I’m not seeing the separation of the burst from OBJ that he had in NY. I don’t know if injuries caught up with him or age or lack of conditioning, but he gets blanketed a lot. And he has neither the size nor strength to win a lot of those 1 on 1 matchups that Mayfield referred to.

It’s possible another team/offensive scheme could get him open more. But it’s also possible he’s just a name player now and nothing special. 5’11 WR have to be special to be impact players - OBJ certainly used to be. I’m just not sure it’s there. 

Maybe he’s not playing to his potential in CLE.  I’d certainly be thrilled to see the Niners make a move to find out, but I find that highly unlikely. 

 
🤮

I was lucky enough to watch most of this game, ugh.  Just terrible.  Forced targets, Landry always seems to be open while beckham is smothered and getting balls tossed over his head.  Im about ready to sell OBJ, have had him for 5 years straight and am just plain sick of it.
I was in the same boat and decided to cut bait on him this year...Baker is just awful and couldn't go through it another year...the missed passes, the pouting.  the talent is undeniable but the situation is just awful.

 
I’m on the fence here. OBJ had a magical run. His speed & wiggle made him un-coverable. He’d bust a double move leaving defenders in the dust.

I just don’t see that guy out there. I understand Mayfield isn’t the 2nd coming of Montana, but I’m not seeing the separation of the burst from OBJ that he had in NY. I don’t know if injuries caught up with him or age or lack of conditioning, but he gets blanketed a lot. And he has neither the size nor strength to win a lot of those 1 on 1 matchups that Mayfield referred to.

It’s possible another team/offensive scheme could get him open more. But it’s also possible he’s just a name player now and nothing special. 5’11 WR have to be special to be impact players - OBJ certainly used to be. I’m just not sure it’s there. 

Maybe he’s not playing to his potential in CLE.  I’d certainly be thrilled to see the Niners make a move to find out, but I find that highly unlikely. 
Odie seems like a flash in the pan.  A guy who came into the league and made some highlight reel catches but in reality is a #2 or maybe a  #3 type of  WR. Small. not strong like Landry and does not break press coverage.  We all thought he would be more but he is just not.  

 
Odie seems like a flash in the pan.  A guy who came into the league and made some highlight reel catches but in reality is a #2 or maybe a  #3 type of  WR. Small. not strong like Landry and does not break press coverage.  We all thought he would be more but he is just not.  
Makes me wonder what Tyreek will be like when he loses some of that speed.

 
Crazy talk. When he was on the Giants he was every bit a stud #1. No not big and strong but quick, fast, with impeccable routes. You really think late career Eli elevated him into something he wasn’t? And sure he had highlight reel catches that everyone will remember but thats not close to his entire resumè. I’ll always think of his slants. It seemed like several times a year he’d burn someone on that slant and just explode through the secondary not to be caught. Maybe the injuries sapped some of that for the long term. Or maybe he was just hurt last year. One game against the Ravens ELITE secondary isn’t close to enough to judge.

 
Crazy talk. When he was on the Giants he was every bit a stud #1. No not big and strong but quick, fast, with impeccable routes. You really think late career Eli elevated him into something he wasn’t? 
no, but I haven’t seen that dude in years. The most athletic thing I’ve seen him do since is tackling the kicker’s practice net-thing. 

Or maybe that was still in NY. 🤔 

 
Odie seems like a flash in the pan.  A guy who came into the league and made some highlight reel catches but in reality is a #2 or maybe a  #3 type of  WR. Small. not strong like Landry and does not break press coverage.  We all thought he would be more but he is just not.  
What is your definition of a flash in a pan? The guy has 5 season of 1k yards receiving. Every year of his career except the one where he played 4 games. His career yards per game is 86.0, tied with Antonio Brown and AJ Green for 4th best ever. If you look at just his Giants career, he goes up to 92.8, which would be 2nd best, only behind Julio, all time. 

Maybe he's washed now, he was hurt all last year and maybe he never recovers, but the idea that he was just a wr2/3 that "made some highlight reel catches" is pretty off base. 

 
no, but I haven’t seen that dude in years. The most athletic thing I’ve seen him do since is tackling the kicker’s practice net-thing. 

Or maybe that was still in NY. 🤔 
He’s only been out of NY for 1 season (plus 1 game). Before getting hurt his last year there he was on pace for yet another 90-100, 1300-1400, 9-13 td season. And again it’s entirely possible the injuries he suffered the last couple years there sapped him of some explosiveness and what we saw last year is what he is. But it’s also entirely possible that he actually was hurt last year and I only submit that 1 game against Bmore isn’t enough to make any sort of judgement. I also contest that NY Odell was a SPECIAL player. Someone said he was just a flash and was really only a 2/3. He averaged that pace I put in the second sentence over 5 years spanning 59 games. It wasn’t a flash.

 
What is your definition of a flash in a pan? The guy has 5 season of 1k yards receiving. Every year of his career except the one where he played 4 games. His career yards per game is 86.0, tied with Antonio Brown and AJ Green for 4th best ever. If you look at just his Giants career, he goes up to 92.8, which would be 2nd best, only behind Julio, all time. 

Maybe he's washed now, he was hurt all last year and maybe he never recovers, but the idea that he was just a wr2/3 that "made some highlight reel catches" is pretty off base. 
I agree he was good.  Last 3 years he has 3-6-4 TDs.   In FF now he is almost not startable.

 
He’s only been out of NY for 1 season (plus 1 game). Before getting hurt his last year there he was on pace for yet another 90-100, 1300-1400, 9-13 td season. And again it’s entirely possible the injuries he suffered the last couple years there sapped him of some explosiveness and what we saw last year is what he is. But it’s also entirely possible that he actually was hurt last year and I only submit that 1 game against Bmore isn’t enough to make any sort of judgement. I also contest that NY Odell was a SPECIAL player. Someone said he was just a flash and was really only a 2/3. He averaged that pace I put in the second sentence over 5 years spanning 59 games. It wasn’t a flash.
I don’t know if he was a flash, but I am concerned about the bolded.  

I don’t know if Mayfield is going to man, or if it’s offensive schemes either. 

It is possible that he’s the same player in a bad situation. I’ll definitely concede that.

This year seems to be a big one for Odell though. If he’s healthy & unsuccessful it might just be time for the Browns to try to move on. They would have some takers, I’m sure. 

 
Crazy talk. When he was on the Giants he was every bit a stud #1. No not big and strong but quick, fast, with impeccable routes. You really think late career Eli elevated him into something he wasn’t? And sure he had highlight reel catches that everyone will remember but thats not close to his entire resumè. I’ll always think of his slants. It seemed like several times a year he’d burn someone on that slant and just explode through the secondary not to be caught. Maybe the injuries sapped some of that for the long term. Or maybe he was just hurt last year. One game against the Ravens ELITE secondary isn’t close to enough to judge.
He  did this once last year, was pretty epic.  I recall a play from last week where he was running the same slant and was wide open....but baker never looked his way and overthrew someone on the other side of the field.

https://youtu.be/pdno3d6_OGc

I have been trying to shop him all week, ZERO takers....he is in my flex this week...and will be riding my bench next week if its another dud,,,,,ugh.

Im no OC, but why the heck cant they try this at least 3-4  times a game.......he still has elite speed

 
Last edited by a moderator:
What is your definition of a flash in a pan? The guy has 5 season of 1k yards receiving. Every year of his career except the one where he played 4 games. His career yards per game is 86.0, tied with Antonio Brown and AJ Green for 4th best ever. If you look at just his Giants career, he goes up to 92.8, which would be 2nd best, only behind Julio, all time. 

Maybe he's washed now, he was hurt all last year and maybe he never recovers, but the idea that he was just a wr2/3 that "made some highlight reel catches" is pretty off base. 
no pun intended, he's just in a crappy situation.

See Woods, Robert.

 
OBJ is on the bench until he proves otherwise.  
 

no idea if it’s the chicken, or the egg, or both, or what.  
 

i hope they figure it out.  
 

but he won’t be in my lineup while they are working on it.  

 
What is your definition of a flash in a pan? The guy has 5 season of 1k yards receiving. Every year of his career except the one where he played 4 games. His career yards per game is 86.0, tied with Antonio Brown and AJ Green for 4th best ever. If you look at just his Giants career, he goes up to 92.8, which would be 2nd best, only behind Julio, all time. 

Maybe he's washed now, he was hurt all last year and maybe he never recovers, but the idea that he was just a wr2/3 that "made some highlight reel catches" is pretty off base. 
Citing numbers is valid I suppose but not particularly helpful given this era of football.  Has Julio ever been the WR1 despite this stat?  

I don't think Odell is in the realm of 2-3 as summer said, he had at least one all pro level season despite the diluted value of recieiving statistics but being the best or among them is worth   noting.  But he's ultimately been a losing player on the whole (with the exception of his one playoff appearance year with the giants, the closest to an MVP performance I've seen a receiver have since the 90's, he singlehandedly pulled multiple wins out with long TDs that were mainly him making a move and going).

That said, as a giants fan, I have to say, Odell is a  loser.  He had one playoff appearance, had the boat fiasco and he dropped a TD in the playoff game while playing quite pedestrian.  He basically slagged off Eli who did nothing but force feed him the ball.  Eli, winner of two bowls, had to hold his tongue while Odell pouted through failed seasons.  Im' sure he'd love Eli now.  

My fear with Odell was, once he lost that 7th gear, due to his size, he would be nothing special.  But he would think he is which is the worst dynamic to manage

 
just traded for and bought low on odell. just reviewed his ten targets and it was a mixed bag. he had a drop, another one close to a drop. baker was inaccurate on a few more... he was a few inches away from having a 4/72/1 day (there was a 50 yard bomb towards the end of the game baker missed the throw and he had beckham was wide open).

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top