Odell Beckham Jr.’s Mike McDaniel Reason to join Dolphins

On Friday afternoon, the NFL world received a jolt to the senses when it was announced that wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. would join the Miami Dolphins after his most recent stint with the Baltimore Ravens, which ended with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating Baltimore in the AFC championship game. Beckham now joins a Dolphins squad that had one of the league’s most dynamic offenses for most of the 2023 season, but ultimately ran into trouble, culminating in a playoff loss to – you guessed it – the Chiefs , that time in the first round of the season. the play-offs.

Some wondered what went into Beckham’s decision to take his talents to South Beach, and if the latest reports are any indication, the presence of Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel weighed heavily the former Pro Bowler’s decision.

“Miami has been talking to Odell for weeks,” said NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN NFL Live (via NFL on ESPN on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter). “They tried to secure this deal. The stimulus package helped him get over the top this week, but I’m told Odell is really intrigued by the opportunity to produce with Mike McDaniel. He believes that head coach will get him the ball. Now that he’s had his Baltimore year with less than 600 yards rushing, he still has a lot to prove. When he talks to people around the league, they believe that if Beckham were to embrace being an insider receiver, like a slot receiver, he could have a great shot. murder in this crime. I was told Kansas City was attractive for Beckham and Buffalo was a bit attractive too, but Miami sold him. They were the most persistent throughout this whole process to get it done.”

How much does Odell have left in the tank?

That’s a question certainly worth asking at this point, as the former first-round draft pick is now on the wrong side of 30 years old and has an extensive injury history, including a torn ACL suffered during the 2022 Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams.

As previously noted, Beckham didn’t get a chance to do much under a Ravens offense that was tough all year (before bizarrely abandoning that strategy in their playoff loss to the Chiefs).

The Dolphins, of course, bring a much more diverse offense to the table under Mike McDaniel, setting all kinds of records in the opening act of the 2023 season, including dropping 70 points on the Denver Broncos and really looking like a video game at times. .

As Fowler noted in his report, much of Beckham’s potential productivity with the Dolphins will depend on the former star’s willingness to accept a new role that is no longer the number one wide receiver. It seems Beckham is reaching the point in every star athlete’s life where his durability will depend on his willingness to adapt his game and cut his losses.