The Los Angeles Rams are now officially stacked on both sides of the ball. Last week, they acquired linebacker and eight-time pro bowler Von Miller from the Denver Broncos and now they’ve added one of the NFL’s most infamous play makers in Odell Beckham Jr to an already highly functioning offence. They’ve signed the 29-year-old to a one-year contract worth $1.25million. With LA sitting on a respectable 7-2 record going into the second half of the season it’ll be exciting to see how this acquisition plays out.
It’s fair to say that Odell Beckham Jr is a player who divides opinion over his capability to be a team player, however his ability to make plays cannot be questioned. After a difficult two-and-a-half seasons in Cleveland following his trade from the NY Giants in 2014, the former first round draft pick will be hoping that he can get back to performing at his best on the west coast.
The signing has been met with mixed reviews by pundits and fans across the league. His time at the Cleveland Browns ended in a toxic fashion with reports of Beckham Jr not willing to be part of the team, refusing to accept being a bit-part player on offence and having fallen out with quarterback Baker Mayfield. Former teammates were quick to shut down the rumours that slandered OBJ’s willingness to be a team player though, with fellow wide-receiver Jarvis Landry stating Beckham was one of the best teammates he’s played with.
In terms of why Odell might work in LA you just have to look at the passing numbers for the Rams this season. They’re first in the league for total passing yards (2776) and passing touchdowns (23), while they sit third for passing yards per game (296.3) only behind Brady’s Tampa Bay and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Those 23 passing touchdowns account for a massive 76.7% of the LA Rams’ TDs this season which may make you think they don’t need someone like OBJ on the offence, but the more options you have at this level the better off you’ll be as the season goes on. It also softens the blow should any injuries occur to current starting receivers Cooper Kupp or Robert Woods.
Moving this late in the year would be difficult for most players but the reports are that many of the Rams players, including star CB Jalen Ramsey and WR Cooper Kupp, have already called Odell to talk to him about the team's ethics and to welcome him in order to help him settle quickly.
It truly is an exciting time to be a Ram’s fan and they’ll be as optimistic as ever that this could finally be their year to get their hands on the elusive Lombardi trophy. Ultimately only time will tell as to how this will turn out but it looks to be a fantastic signing for Sean McVay’s side and OBJ looks like he’s already up for it.
