Odell Beckham Jr. to LA Rams: initial grade & reactions to signing

The Los Angeles Rams continue their aggressive push to hosting this season’s Super Bowl by signing free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. LA is simply stockpiling weapons by adding the three-time Pro Bowler in hopes that a deep playoff push will occur.

What are people saying about the move over the interwebs on Thursday afternoon? We’ve got reactions from Jalen Ramsey, the King Lebron James and of course, the man who helped recruit OBJ to Hollywood, Von Miller.

Reaction from Rams Players

Nothing seems to surprise quarterback Matthew Stafford anymore. He’s probably finally getting used to being apart of a great organization for the first time in his career:

Somewhere Dan Campbell has bitten off someone’s kneecap in a fit of rage. Von Miller was on a FaceTime call with the new Ram when the news broke, and decided to share it with his Instagram followers.

Much like the Von Miller trade, Jalen Ramsey was feeling excited over the move:

Sebastian Joseph-Day broke out his best dance moves when news broke:

Justin Hollins and Ogbo Okoronkwo also got into the celebratory mood:

Reactions throughout social media

A lot of fans were overwhelming excited about the addition, noting the aggressive nature of the Rams’ front office and potential for creating a more dynamic, lethal offense. We’ll kick things off with Lebron James, who was part of the Free Odell group wanting the star playmaker to leave Cleveland:

Even the team’s divisional rival is happy for LA...sort of:

A couple of Beckham’s Browns teammates also reacted to the news. Jarvis Landry was genuine in wishing his friend the best, all while confidently alluding to how they’ll meet up soon:

Browns safety, and former Los Angeles player John Johnson III wished Beckham well too but wasn’t sure how the receiver would enjoy it in the City of Angels:

What’s the Rams grade for this signing?

My Grade: A-

Much like the Von Miller trade, a contending team has to make these types of aggressive moves if they want any chance of acquiring any hardware in February. General Manager Les Snead once again continues to do whatever he can to chase that Lombardi Trophy. He has the killer instinct that so many front offices around the league lack.

I love this signing for several reasons. This is a very low-risk, high-reward move for the Rams to make. It reminds me a lot of the Buccaneers taking a chance on Antonio Brown last season. Things started off slow for him, but sadly, we all know how it turned out for Tom Brady and company.

Now, I understand there’s going to be a lot of reservations considering Beckham is joining such a loaded LA offense. This was a take that a Twitter user noted:

Who’s to say Beckham won’t complain about a lack of targets should that happen in Los Angeles like it did in Cleveland? I believe in Sean McVay’s ability to scheme targets for him, and this could move him into Van Jefferson’s WR3 spot:

“This season, the Rams have three receivers on the field 86% of the time — more than any team in the league. And if that wasn’t enough, the Rams also go empty — five pass catchers and no running backs on the field — 19% of the time, also the highest in the NFL.” per Nick Wagoner for ESPN

Beckham’s production has notably dropped in recent years, but he’s still able to get open which becomes more exciting for him in joining a team with a big-armed quarterback. According to ESPN stats and information, Odell’s average depth of target in 2021 was 13.79 and the only Rams player to get close to that number was Jefferson at 12.91. So Beckham would be even more dangerous in this spot than Jefferson could hope to be.

OBJ doesn’t need to be the superstar playmaker he used to be. There was a reason the team tried to trade for him back in 2018. Overall, I love this move and fingers crossed that this aggressiveness pays off with the team’s second Super Bowl title.