Odell Beckham Jr lands in top 10 of CBS Sports’ WR rankings

Former LSU football wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr is primed for a bounce-back year in 2020.

Former LSU football wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr appeared to fall off the “best wide receivers” in the NFL radar after a lackluster first season with the Cleveland Browns.

Beckham, who was traded to the Browns after spending the first five seasons of his NFL career with the New York Giants, had the least productive full-season of his career in 2019.

The former All-SEC wide receiver caught 74 passes for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns last season (all career lows, excluding his 2017 season, which was shortened to four games due to injury).

There was a reason, however, for Beckham’s drop in production last season. The dynamic wideout spent the entire 2019 season injured. OBJ underwent core muscle surgery in January.

Despite the drop in production in 2019, CBS Sports still believes Beckham is one of the top wide receivers in the NFL.

In fact, CBS Sports recently rated OBJ as the No. 10 wide receiver in the NFL, saying “If he can stay healthy and get something resembling competent quarterback play, he’s a clear-cut top-five wideout”.

Odell Beckham Jr is in a better spot moving forward

While Beckham has become an afterthought for some folks, it’s important to remember that he’s still only 27. He’s not that far removed from being the wide receiver who had three consecutive 1,300 plus yard seasons to start his NFL career.

In 2020, Beckham will be healthy. He’ll have better chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield. And most importantly, he won’t have Freddie Kitchens as a head coach anymore.

Part of the reason Beckham struggled in 2019 (aside from the injuries) was the poor job that Kitchens did as a head coach. The Browns’ sideline was basically the wild west during games. And that’s not a recipe for success.

With Kevin Stefanski in charge, the Browns will have a more structured team environment, which will be good for Beckham and the rest of the roster.

Beckham has already said this offseason that he has a good feeling about Stefanski. That bodes well for the future of the Browns because the offense isn’t going anywhere if Beckham and Stefanski aren’t on the same page.