CLEVELAND — Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. did not come to the Cleveland Browns with the best reputation, as New York media members and former Giants teammates and coaches implied that he was a problem within the locker room.
But as Browns coach Freddie Kitchens is fond of saying, “The windshield is bigger than the review mirror,” and Cleveland’s staff has found Beckham Jr. to be dedicated to his craft and working during the week to ready himself to deliver on game days.
“It has not been a problem,” Browns offensive coordinator Todd Monken said earlier this week. “There has been nothing. Not with me. Not with on the field. Not with our coaches.
“Nothing we have talked about that has not been ‘get on the field, work, produce in the games and be attentive in the meetings.’ To me, that is a big part of it. To me, are you taking what we are talking about and the quarterbacks are communicating to you onto the field? I have seen that.”
Beckham Jr. made quite the return to his former home field, MetLife Stadium, in front of a national television audience on Monday Night Football last week.
As the Browns fought their way to a 23-3 victory over the New York Jets, Beckham Jr. found the game therapeutic in a sense, as the former Giants star shined bright under the prime time spotlight when he pulled in six catches for 161 yards and one touchdown, an 89-yard score in the third quarter.
“It has been good,” Monken said of Beckham Jr’s preparation and production. “He asks good questions. He is not afraid to ask, and he is not afraid to take coaching.
“He wants to do it the right way. He wants to win. He wants to have success. Him being in the right position where Baker (Mayfield) can expect him to be is going to help that. He is a really, really good football player that you have to find a number of ways to get him matched up and get him the ball, which we have been trying to do.”
Running a slant route from the left side of the field with the Browns backed up deep in their own territory, Beckham Jr. caught a short pass from Mayfield and sprinted the final 79 yards for his first touchdown with the Browns.
The touchdown was not the only play Beckham Jr. made in his return to MetLife Stadium, as he helped set up the Browns’ first score of the game with a memorable catch along the sideline early in the first quarter.
On second-and-12 from the New York 37-yard line, Mayfield took the shotgun snap and lofted a pass down the right sideline for Beckham Jr. In nearly the exact same spot as “The Catch,” Beckham Jr. made against the Dallas Cowboys during his rookie season, he reached up for and pulled down a one-handed catch at the Jets.
Through two games, Beckham Jr. leads the Browns with 13 receptions for 232 yards and the one touchdown.
“He is unique in his skill set,” Monken said. “Let’s start with that. He has a unique skill set. He can play wherever you want him to play with his balance, body control and acceleration. He can change speeds. He can track the ball.
“He is an awfully good football player, and he is an intelligent football player with excellent ball skills. He is competitive. It does not show sometimes, but he is awfully competitive, a prideful guy. It works out. We just have to continue to find ways to get him the ball and move him around.”