Odell Beckham Jr.

BIOGRAPHY

Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. was born November 5, 1992, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is a wide receiver in the National Football League.

He attended Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, he played wide receiver, quarterback, running back, and cornerback for the Greenies football team. As a junior, he caught 45 passes for 743 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also adding three more scores on the ground. As a senior, he hauled in 50 catches for 1,010 yards and 19 touchdowns, joining Cooper Manning as the only two players in school history to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season. In addition, he rushed for 331 yards and six touchdowns, passed for 90 yards and a score, and also averaged 30.0 yards per punt return. He was named to the Times-Picayune 2011 Blue-Chip list and to the Louisiana 2A All-State first team as a wide receiver, while he also earned District 9-2A Offensive MVP honors and a spot on The Advocate's Super Dozen.

In basketball, Beckham lettered all four years and was an all-district selection his junior and senior years. As a standout track & field athlete, Beckham followed in his mother's footsteps to excel in the sprinting and jumping events while at Newman High. He took silver in the long jump event at the 2010 Newman Invitational, with a career-best leap of 6.83 meters. At the 2010 LA 2A State Meet, he earned sixth-place finishes in both the 200-meter dash, with a PR time of 22.31 seconds, and in the long jump, with a leap of 6.71 meters (21 ft 11 in). He was also a member of the Newman 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m relay teams.

As a true freshman at LSU in 2011, Beckham started nine of 14 games. He made his collegiate debut on September 3, 2011, against the #3 Oregon Ducks. Against the Ducks, he had two receptions for 10 yards in the 40–27 victory. Against the #16 West Virginia Mountaineers on September 24, Beckham scored his first career collegiate touchdown, a 52-yard reception from Jarrett Lee, in the 47–21 victory. In the SEC Championship against the #12 Georgia Bulldogs, Beckham was held without a catch but did have two punt returns in the 42–10 victory. The Tigers finished with a 13–0 record and made the BCS National Championship game in Beckham's freshman season. In the game, which was a rematch against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Beckham had five receptions for 38 yards in the 21-0 defeat. Overall, in his freshman season, Beckham finished second on the team with 41 receptions for 475 yards and tied for third with two receiving touchdowns. He was named a freshman All-SEC selection.

As a sophomore in 2012, Beckham started 12 of 13 games for the Tigers. In the season opener against the North Texas Mean Green, he had his first collegiate career punt return touchdown, a 70-yard return in the first quarter of the 41–14 victory. On September 29, he had his first career collegiate game with over 100 yards against the Towson Tigers. He had five receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the 38–22 victory over the Tigers. On November 17, against SEC West rival Ole Miss, he was held to only two receptions for 13 yards, but he had an 89-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter to help tie the game late. The Tigers would end up beating the Rebels by a score of 41–35. In the regular-season finale against the Arkansas Razorbacks, he had four receptions for 112 receiving yards in the 20–13 victory. LSU finished with a 10–2 record and qualified for the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Clemson. Beckham had three receptions for 40 receiving yards as LSU lost 25–24 on a game-winning field goal by Clemson as time expired. He finished first on the team in receiving yards with 713, second in receptions with 43, only behind Jarvis Landry's 56 receptions, and third on the team with two receiving touchdowns.

As a junior in 2013, he combined with Jarvis Landry to form one of the most productive wide receiver duos in college football. On August 31, in the Tigers' regular-season opener, he had five receptions for 118 receiving yards in the 37–27 victory over #20 TCU at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On September 7, in the game against UAB, Beckham had five receptions for 136 yards and three touchdowns in the 56–17 victory. In the same game, he returned a failed field goal attempt for a record-long 109 yards and a touchdown, and this record would be tied by Auburn's Chris Davis later that year against the Alabama Crimson Tide. On October 5, against SEC West rival Mississippi State, Beckham had nine receptions for a then-career-high 179 receiving yards with two touchdowns in the 59–26 victory. Against the Furman Paladins on October 26, Beckham had six receptions for a collegiate career-high 204 yards and two touchdowns in the 48–16 victory. He was a first and second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection. In his role as a wide receiver and return specialist, Beckham was named the winner of the 2013 Paul Hornung Award, presented annually to the most versatile player in major college football. He finished the 2013 season with 57 receptions for 1,117 yards and eight touchdowns. He led the SEC with 32 kickoff returns for 845 net yards in the 2013 season.

After the season, he decided to forego his senior season and entered the 2014 NFL Draft. Beckham was selected by the New York Giants with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year contract with the Giants on May 19, 2014. The deal was for $10.4 million with a $5.88 million signing bonus.

After missing a majority of the training camp, preseason, and the first four games of the season because of a hamstring injury, Beckham made his debut on October 5, 2014, in Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons recording four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown in the 30–20 victory. In his first Monday Night Football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Beckham caught eight passes for 156 yards in the 40–24 loss. Against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10, he caught seven passes for 108 yards in the 38–17 loss. On November 23, 2014, during a game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, Beckham had 10 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns, including a one-handed touchdown reception hailed as the "catch of the year", with Cris Collinsworth, Tony Dungy, Victor Cruz, and LeBron James all saying that it was one of the best catches ever. Beckham made this catch despite a pass interference penalty called on Dallas cornerback Brandon Carr while diving backward with full extension of his right hand using only three fingers. Beckham finished November with 38 receptions, 593 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. He had at least 90 yards receiving in all five games in November, setting an NFL rookie record for a calendar month. He also broke Bill Groman's and Randy Moss's rookie record for consecutive games with 90 or more receiving yards in a season. In Week 14, Beckham extended his 90 receiving yard streak to 6 games, recording 11 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown in a 36–7 victory over the Tennessee Titans. He also joined Bill Groman as the only rookies to have over 700 receiving yards in a six-game span.

On December 14, 2014, Beckham became the first NFL rookie with at least 12 catches, 140 yards, and three scores in a game racking up 143 receiving yards, 12 catches, and three touchdowns. With his 12 receptions, Beckham tied former Giant's tight end Mark Bavaro for the most in a game by a Giants rookie; Bavaro had 12 catches against the Cincinnati Bengals on October 13, 1985. Beckham's 143 receiving yards marked the fifth time he topped 100 receiving yards during the 2014 season, extending his own Giants record and setting an NFL rookie record of over 90 receiving yards in seven straight games. With 61 catches over seven games, Beckham also set the record for most ever receptions by an NFL rookie in a seven-game span. On December 21, 2014, Beckham extended his streak of 90 or more receiving yards in-game to 8 when he racked up 148 receiving yards on 8 receptions and also hauled in 2 touchdowns vs. St. Louis Rams, including an 80-yard score, the longest touchdown reception by a Giants rookie in franchise history. Beckham finished his impressive rookie campaign with 91 receptions, 1,305 yards, and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games. He's the fourth rookie in NFL history to have at least 1,300 receiving yards in a season, and the only rookie to have at least 90 receptions and 10 receiving touchdowns in a season. Beckham was named a first-alternate for the 2015 Pro Bowl. On January 7, 2015, Beckham replaced Calvin Johnson in Pro Bowl due to injury. He was the first Giants rookie wide receiver in franchise history and the first Giants rookie since Jeremy Shockey in 2002 to make the Pro Bowl. Beckham earned numerous accolades after the season, which sportswriters hailed as one of the greatest ever by a rookie. On January 31, 2015, Beckham was named Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. He was also awarded the 2014 Pro Football Writers Association Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. On May 13, 2015, Beckham was voted to the cover of Madden NFL 16, beating out Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots. Beckham is the youngest player ever to grace the cover of Madden.

In the 2015 season, Beckham finished the season with career highs of 1,450 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. The Giants finished with a 6–10 record and missed the playoffs. He was a Pro Bowl selection for the second year in a row and was ranked 10th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

In the 2016 season, Beckham became the fastest player to reach 200 receptions by doing so in only 30 games. In 2016, Beckham started all 16 games for the first time in his career and finished with 101 receptions, which was a career-high, 1,367 receiving yards, and ten touchdowns. He was a Pro Bowl selection for the third year in a row.

In his 2018 season after coming back from injury the league was put on notice as he continued to shine and break records. He became the first player since David Patten in 2001 and only the fourth since 1950 to record a passing touchdown of at least 50 yards while having at least 100 receiving yards in the same game. He became the first non-quarterback with multiple passing touchdowns in a season since Antwaan Randle El in 2010. In addition, he became the first player to record multiple games with a touchdown pass and a receiving touchdown in a single season since Eddie Kaw and Benny Boynton accomplished the feat for the 1924 Buffalo Bisons. He finished the season with 77 receptions, 1,052 yards, six touchdowns, and threw two passes for touchdowns. He was ranked 23rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.

On March 13, 2019, Beckham was acquired by the Cleveland Browns, along with Olivier Vernon, in exchange for Jabrill Peppers, Kevin Zeitler, and the Browns' first- and third-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. In Beckham's first game with the Browns, he caught seven passes for 71 yards. Beckham surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season.

On November 11, 2021, Beckham signed with the Los Angeles Rams.

With the Rams, Beckham scored his first career playoff touchdown on January 17, 2022, in the Wild Card Game against the Arizona Cardinals. In the NFC Championship Game, Beckham caught 9 passes for 113 yards in the 20–17 win against the San Francisco 49ers, helping the Rams advance to Super Bowl LVI.

In the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals, Beckham scored the game's first touchdown, a 17-yard reception. However, Beckham left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury and did not return. The Rams would hang on to win 23–20, earning Beckham his first career Super Bowl championship. The next day, it was revealed that Beckham suffered a torn ACL, less than a year and a half since he first tore it with Cleveland in October 2020, coincidentally also against the Bengals.

Beckham joined the Baltimore Ravens in 2023.