Since signing to become the NFL's highest-paid receiver, Odell Beckham Jr. hasn’t had the best start to the 2018 season. He was without a touchdown through his first four games, only nabbing his first score in today’s 131-yard performance against the Carolina Panthers, but it wasn't enough to keep the Giants from falling to 1-4 on the year.
Opening up in an interview with ESPN, OBJ spoke candidly about his frustration with the offense. In particular, he sounded doubtful of his quarterback, Eli Manning.
“I feel like [Manning] isn’t going to get out of the pocket. We know Eli’s not running, but is it a matter of time issue, can he still throw it? Yeah, he’s been pretty safe, and it’s been cool catching a shallow [pass] and trying to take it to the house, but I want to go over the top of somebody.” — Odell Beckham Jr.
Throughout the interview, OBJ was pointed about the passes that other top receivers would get from their quarterbacks and himself wanting to go downfield for big plays, but he says that Manning’s reliance on the short pass has allowed teams to blanket the Giants offense with specific schemes. (And, for whatever reason, Lil Wayne plays his hype man here.)
More broadly, asked about his satisfaction with the team, OBJ sounded uncertain as to his long-term future in New York. Certainly the team has many gifted scoring options, but the play from Manning and the offensive line has made it hard for the offense to take off.
He might just do it himself. Against the Panthers, a lateral pass from Manning put OBJ in place to make the deep throws that he wanted to see in the offense, and he did just that by connecting with Saquon Barkley for a 57-yard touchdown.
h/t ESPN
