Getty Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Beckham has not been shy about showing off his Cleveland Browns pride in recent days.
Shortly after the team broke from mandatory minicamp, Beckham was seeing sitting courtside at the NBA Finals wearing a throwback Jim Brown jersey on Friday night in Oakland.
Now, the outspoken wide receiver is letting his expectations with the Browns be known on Instagram.
“When it’s all said n done, they gon respect me….,” Beckham wrote.
Beckham is coming off an impressive minicamp where he wowed with his quick feet and patented one-handed grabs. He also delivered a well-spoken media session, laying out what has him pumped for the upcoming season.
“Words don’t even really do it justice for me,’’ said Beckham. “I’m almost giddy, I feel like a little kid with the excitement that I have, seeing Baker, seeing these guys. You know we talk a lot about this offense but this defense is something special and this team is really coming together.’’
Here he is again, this time juking both Joe Schobert and Denzel Ward.
OBJ has already earned respect as one of the top wide receivers in the league. Over the span of Beckham’s first five years in the league, he’s caught 390 passes for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns in 59 games.
“He’s smart,’’ Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens said. “It is not like this is the first time he’s opened up our book. He’s been studying and all that kind of stuff. Odell is making progress just like everybody else. Odell had some bad plays, and he had some good plays. Odell doesn’t have a magic wand. He’s going to come out and he is going to work. We just need a little bit of improvement every day.”
It’s not all about number for Beckham, either. He said he’d sacrifice personal numbers for team success.
“This game is about winning,” Beckham said. “I’d much rather be in the playoffs than go for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns, because I’m supposed to do that anyway. I’m ready to get back to the playoffs and show what I can do.”
GettyCleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Beckham Jr., Baker Mayfield Already Have Strong Connection
Beckham has played at an elite level since entering the league, but should see his numbers take a jump with Baker Mayfield throwing him the ball.
After usurping Tyrod Taylor as the starter in Week 3, Mayfield passed for 3,725 yards and had 27 touchdowns — breaking Peyton Manning’s rookie record for TDs.
OBJ noted the difference catching ball from Mayfield.
“I’ve watched Baker since Oklahoma … he’s got an arm,” Beckham said. “I have to get adjusted to the speed. He’s throwing that ball hard. Just catching them from him the first day it was completely different.”
Beckham also noted the confidence Mayfield displays being a major reason why he believes they will thrive.
“I think it’s the confidence he carries himself with,” Beckham said of why he enjoys having Baker as his QB. “You can’t coach that. You have to love that about him.”
“I know that I’m always going to back him, right, wrong, indifferent,” Beckham added “You know the whole T.O. joke, ‘That’s my quarterback’? That’s my guy. Baker was a friend, a brother to me before I got on this team and now for him to be my quarterback, I’m always going to back him.
The team has an extended break until training camp in late July, but Beckham has said he and Baker will get in some work in the meantime to that to build on their connection.