Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on the sideline in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengalsat SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
NFL: Super Bowl LVI-Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals
Odell Beckham Jr appears to have shortened his list to two teams. According to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, OBJ has chosen the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants as finalists, with plans to visit both teams after their Thanksgiving showdown on Thursday afternoon from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, and the Buffalo Bills were once linked to the 3-time Pro Bowler, but they appear to have missed the cut. Both the Cowboys and Giants boast a 7-3 record, with Dallas edging the Giants thus far in the leaderboards based on their tiebreaker from week 3.
OBJ has ties with the Giants based on the birth of his career. He was drafted by Big Blue with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He instantly made a name for himself, racking up 1,305 receiving yards in only 12 games, which equates to 108.8 yards on average. He was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and was an All-Pro for the next two years after. Odell solidified his identity as a playmaker when he made one of the most mind-blowing catches that we’ve ever seen in 2014, utilizing three fingers to make a catch on Sunday Night Football against the Cowboys to score a TD while being fouled on the play.
Ever since then, he has been one of the more prominent wide receivers in the NFL. He spent five years with the Giants organization before the front office decided to trade him away to the Cleveland Browns. Beckham developed character during the end of his tenure with the G-Men, which forced then-general manager Dave Gettleman to ship him off after multiple incidents involving the star. His controversial reputation was highlighted by a picture with all of the Giants receivers on a boat before their Wild Card matchup in Green Bay. When they lost that one, Beckham punched a hole in the wall at Lambeau Field.
During the 2022 draft, OBJ took a shot at Gettleman after New York drafted Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux with the 5th overall pick. Art Stapleton of USA Today commended the move on Twitter, suggesting that OBJ should return to the Giants after the front office made the pick. Then, Justin “Clem” Clemenza of Barstool Sports added to the thread, indicating that Stapleton did a great job acknowledging big personalities on the Giants, better than Gettleman did in his time with the G-Men. In response, OBJ took his chance saying “wait are you saying Gettleman wasn’t a good Gm??? Just for the record” with three crying emojis and an ear emoji added to the sentiment. Clearly, Beckham had beef with him, which may have driven the 2-time All-Pro WR to leave East Rutherford, New Jersey.
However, despite all of the negativity surrounding the end of his tenure at the Meadowlands, OBJ still has some tight connections with Big Blue. He visited last week to check in on his former teammate, Sterling Shepard after he tore his ACL. It was not an official visit with the team, but it shows something that OBJ took time out of his rehab to come up North to visit an old friend at a team facility. Now at 7-3, should OBJ pick the Giants over the Cowboys?
There’s one problem. Dallas happens to have the better team overall in terms of talent. The Cowboys are also at 7-3 after destroying the Minnesota Vikings 40-3 on the road. Both Dallas and New York have very similar schedules, but the Cowboys have shown that they can dominate on both sides of the field. Defensively, Dallas has the most sacks in the NFL (42.0) by a wide margin (Patriots: 36.0) which is led by Micah Parsons and his 10.0 sacks (2nd in the NFL). They also rank 3rd with a +7 turnover differential with 9 forced fumbles and 7 interceptions. After the victory, OBJ took notice of Dallas, tweeting “They went krazy today.” Parsons took it upon himself to try and recruit Odell by replying with “come on then” with eye emojis indicating interest. DeMarcus Lawrence, one of the longer-tenured Cowboys, added to the hype, saying “they sure did. Make the right decision.” Clearly, Dallas wants OBJ to help their chances of going deep in the playoffs this year with hopes of returning to the Super Bowl.
He would join a Cowboys team that has much more ambition through the air compared with the Giants. New York has been identified this year as a run-first team, hence the success behind Saquon Barkley’s 2022. Dallas is fortunate to have a two-headed dragon in their backfield, with Tony Pollard racking up 701 yards… as a backup to their RB1 Ezekiel Elliott. In terms of the WR room, CeeDee Lamb is the only one representing the team on the leaderboards. Lamb as the WR1 has 58 catches (9th) for 751 receiving yards (11th) and 5 TDs (T-10th).
Compare that with Noah Brown, the next closest Dallas WR on the charts with 384 receiving yards (64th in the NFL). Michael Gallup has been plagued with injuries this year, limiting his upside. Odell would be an instant upgrade and would be a prime target for Dak Prescott to consider. Some would say that the numbers behind the receivers are capped due to Cooper Rush’s time as the starter while Prescott was recovering from an injury to his left thumb. Nevertheless, Prescott is much more capable of throwing for 300+ yards than Daniel Jones is.
Dallas beat the Giants once before, and now they are riding a 37-point win at the 8-1 Vikings, now 8-2. ‘Dem Cowboys are riding huge momentum, compare to New York who just lost to the Detroit Lions, a team that now has a 3-game winning streak at 4-7. So history favors the Giants while talent and promise favor the Cowboys in this battle. Odell’s best chance to win a Super Bowl has to be in Texas because that was the idea when he went to Los Angeles to become a Ram. Despite tearing his ACL, he scored a TD on 2 catches for 52 yards in the big game, making an impact even before his game was over.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated earlier on 105.3 The Fan that it is his “understanding” that they will in fact meet with Beckham post-Thanksgiving. We are nearing the end of this saga, and now that Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson (torn ACL) has suffered a season-ending injury, how much more desperate will Big Blue become when it comes to signing OBJ to their depleted WR room? Odell will wait until after the holiday to make his decision, with the spotlight turned to the game between the Giants and Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Could the outcome of this game influence OBJ and his thought process? Only time will tell.
