National Football League

Odell Beckham Jr.'s image has rebounded, but is it warranted?

Published Feb. 10, 2022 3:57 p.m. ET

It all started in 2014, when a New York Giants rookie receiver named Odell Beckham Jr. reached up into the sky and snatched a ball out of the air with one sticky-fingered hand, burning the Dallas Cowboys for a touchdown despite being interfered with.

At the time, NBC announcer Cris Collinsworth, a former receiver, marveled that he had just witnessed perhaps the greatest catch he had ever seen. A legend was born.

Beckham was a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie, catching 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns. He earned the same honor in each of the next two seasons, establishing himself as one of the top wideouts in the NFL.

But things slowly devolved from there, and after he was traded to Cleveland in 2019, the situation got even worse. Beckham never built a connection with quarterback Baker Mayfield and thus was limited to 114 catches in two-plus seasons with the Browns.

After OBJ was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in the middle of this season, he experienced a rebirth. Playing second fiddle to established star and MVP candidate Cooper Kupp, Beckham caught 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight games in L.A., then added another 19 catches for 236 yards across three playoff games.

Now, the narrative has changed, and many observers are pointing to OBJ's spot in the Super Bowl as a sign of his return to greatness.

But Skip Bayless isn't quite sold, and he explained why on his podcast, "The Skip Bayless Show."

"I don't know Odell," he said. "… But I know a lot of people who do know Odell. ... I think I have a pretty good handle, a pretty good inside view of what Odell is really all about and not all about. I like Odell personally because I get the sense from everybody around him, he has a good heart. He's actually, down deep, a really good guy.

"When it comes to what I believe is in a winning football player, Odell is little to none of the above. Odell is way more style than substance. Way more sizzle than steak."

Bayless pointed to the fact that OBJ is the most-followed NFL player on social media despite not having been a Pro Bowler since the 2016 season. He also said he has been told that Beckham doesn't do a lot of commercials because he has an introverted personality, which merely adds to the puzzle.

"He's really pretty introverted. He can be very quiet, very reserved, very to himself off-camera. How does he have by far the most followers on social media in the NFL? How did this happen, this Odell phenomenon?"

Bayless said it all started after that catch against the Cowboys in 2014, and Beckham has been an expert at using social media to amplify his image ever since.

But according to Bayless, that isn't enough to make Beckham a great, let alone put him on a Hall of Fame track.

"I loved Michael Irvin because he was a leader who had guts and was a playmaker who knew how to own the big moments. But not just Irvin," Bayless said. "... Jerry Rice had guts. Jerry Rice had drive. Jerry Rice would cut your heart out.

"Odell? He just made my heart hurt, watching him. This is greatness? He had one great year in New York, the first year, statistically. And then the stats started to drop."