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If I had to describe Odell Beckham’s sophomore season in one word I would use the word ‘fascinating’.
As far as his ability goes, OBJ continued to amaze and dazzle fans of football. Of course, I don’t think I could write this article without mentioning some of the negative aspects of his personality that shined through this season and turned off some fans. Most notably this was seen in the game against Carolina where Odell rammed his helmet into Josh Norman’s. Much to the horror of his fantasy owners, OBJ was then suspended. Not just for any random week either - For Week 16 - the fantasy championships for almost all leagues! As much as he was a championship winner last year, he single handedly killed a number of promising championship runs due to pure immaturity.
Okay, that’s been addressed. Let’s focus on the awesomeness now.
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His big play ability was insane. Five separate games with a touchdown of 40 or more yards. He was tied with Allen Robinson for most 30+ yard receptions (13). He was tied with Antonio Brown (who had an extra 40 receptions to work off of) for most catches of 40+ yards at eight. Only he and Torrey Smith had multiple 70+ yard receptions at three each. A lot of people felt his big play ability as a rookie was fluky and unsustainable. 27 games into his career I think it’s obvious he’s a truly special talent and it’s not a fluke.
His eight 100 yard games ranked fourth among all WRs. His 96.7 receiving yards per game was 12 yards less than his rookie season and still good for third in the league. After a bit of a slow start, from weeks 8-15 - when owners are trying to lock up a playoff spot and make it to the championship - he averaged 125 yards per game and just once during those seven games did he not score a touchdown. Even if he wasn’t quite dominant from start to finish, he was dominant when his owners needed it most (err...except for that one rather important week).
To put a cap on Odell’s fantastic season let’s look at the start of his career from a historical perspective.
Despite missing five games, his 2,755 rec yards are the most all-time in a player’s first two seasons. His 25 touchdowns are fourth most behind Bill Groman (a fantastic WR from the ‘60s whose career was cut short by injury), Randy Moss and Rob Gronkowski. It’s worth noting Moss is the only other player to hit the 2,700 yard mark through two seasons and he needed all 32 games to do it. Lastly Odell’s 187 receptions are second most all-time through two seasons. Second only to his college teammate Jarvis Landry at 194. And once again, Landry needed an extra five games on OBJ to get there. No other player has ever had more than 168 catches through two seasons.
So I know some of you will forever hate OBJ for his prima donna personality (or merely for the suspension that cost you a championship). If you can get past that you should be able to see that we have witnessed historic production from this young man. The numbers don’t even tell the whole story. He is a walking, talking highlight reel who makes one handed snares a weekly event.
Looking ahead to 2016, it’s hard to put expectations on a player with such a start to their career. Barring injury, I would be shocked if he isn’t a top five WR (he finished as the WR5 in each of the past two seasons while missing games). He may have a new head coach in Ben McAdoo, but thankfully it’s the same offense and same quarterback. Stability is good for a stud like OBJ. If I were drafting tomorrow, he’d be a top five pick for sure and probably top three.
Even beyond fantasy, I ask of you this: Things change so fast in the NFL. Odell is probably going to be around for a very long time but you never know. Separate the man from some of his actions and just appreciate him for the special football player he is.
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