Getty Images Odell Beckham and Jalen Ramsey.
Odell Beckham is coming off a few down, injury-riddled seasons, but the Cleveland Browns star pass-catcher still demands respect from some of the best defenders around the league.
In a list put together by Rams All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Beckham was dubbed a top three wide receiver, coming in at No. 2. He had some elite company in Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins.
“Personally, off of people I’ve played, I got Odell,” Ramsey said on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast. “When Odell’s healthy and he’s on his (expletive), he’s tough, for real. He’s just fast, twitchy, runs good routes, got great hands. I like his game.”
The health part of that equation has been the issue for Beckham, who is coming off a torn ACL. Beckham recorded 23 catches on 43 targets for 319 yards and three touchdowns last season prior to the injury.
That came after a fairly disappointing debut season in Cleveland, although it was far from his fault. The inconsistency of the offense as a whole during the Freddie Kitchens experiment was tough and Beckham was battling through multiple injuries that required offseason surgery. Still, Beckham finished with 74 catches for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns.
Ramsey and Beckham faced off in 2018 while Beckham was with the Giants and Ramsey was with the Jaguars. Ramsey’s squad won 20-15, but Beckham put up some big numbers, catching 11 passes for 111 yards.
Hopkins, Jones Round Out Ramsey’s List
GettyWide receiver DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals.
Hopkins — who plays in the same division as Ramsey — got the nod as the top pass-catcher in the NFL.
“The reason I say yeah is because D-Hop done had 20 different quarterbacks and put up the same numbers year after year after year,” he said. “There’s some receivers who you’re like, ‘Dawg, without that quarterback, I don’t know if he could do what he’s doing. Or without that connection, I don’t know if he could do what he’s doing.’ He was in Houston, he had a thousand different quarterbacks and he was putting up numbers every year. Then he had Deshaun (Watson) for a couple years and he was putting up stupid numbers. Then he got Kyler (Murray) and put up stupid numbers again. So it’s like, I’ve got to respect that.”
Jones was traded this offseason to the the Titans to play opposite of A.J. Brown and is looking for a bounce back year after missing six games and notching just 771 yards. It was the firs time since 2013 — when he played in just five games — that he did not break the 1,000-yard mark.
“It’s tough. I’ve probably got Julio. Julio can do it all. He’s fast, he’s big, runs good routes, catch, run after the catch. He can do it all. When Julio’s healthy, he a dawg,” Ramsey said.
Browns Looking Forward to Beckham’s Return
Despite the rampant trade rumors, the Browns have been clear that they are excited to get Beckham back and integrated into the offense.
“Anytime you can add a dominant athlete back on the field in your offense, it is only going to help us,” Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “He is an elite player. Not having him out there, we had to fight and claw to continue to have offensive success. I know it is a lot easier when you have great players.”
Beckham participated in the majority of mandatory minicamp and all signs point to him being ready for the start of the regular season against the Chiefs on September 12.
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