New York Giants: Odell Beckham Jr. Still Needs Maturing
Entering his third season with the New York Giants, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. continues to be one of the best at his position but the general consensus is immaturity is defining him as of late.
Make no mistake about it, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is easily one of the best players at his position. So far in his tenure with the New York Giants, Beckham has totaled 2,755 receiving yards, 187 receptions, 25 touchdowns and has an average of 14.7 yards per catch.
He’s also made so many incredible highlights with his patented one-handed catches that you can’t take your eyes off him whenever he’s on the gridiron. One thing however stands out from all his achievements so far in his young NFL career.
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Whether it was practically having a fist-fight with cornerback Josh Norman, over-celebrating big first downs or most recently, having a fit being named the 10th best player in NFL Network’s “Top 100” countdown event, Beckham needs to mature up if he’s to cement his legacy as one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play the game.
Beckham undoubtedly has the talent to be legendary but sometimes emotions tend to get the best of him and in a blink of an eye, all his stardom could be gone if he handles himself like an immature diva looking for attention because things aren’t exactly going his way.
After seeing he was ranked No. 10 by his peers, as per an article written by Andrew Joseph of USA Today, at 3:00 am, Beckham was so upset that he decided to work out. He even made an Instagram post about it.
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While it’s admirable that he’ll use that ranking as motivation to get better, it’s another weird moment with Beckham wearing his emotions on his sleeve and letting pretty things get to him.
One can only imagine what will transpire now that Norman made a huge transition this offseason going from the Carolina Panthers to the Washington Redskins via free agency.
It’s a move that will only add even more fire to the intense rivalry between the two athletes.
They will meet against each other for the first time in 2016 in a Week 3 match-up at home in MetLife Stadium to close out the month of September. Hopefully Beckham can deal with everything on the field and not let immaturity cause him to lose his temper in a key division game.
With new rules now in the NFL that could get players ejected after two personal fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct, Beckham needs to stop letting others get in his head and do what he does best.
Otherwise, he’ll always be known as a phenomenal player that simply didn’t have the maturity to let his surreal skill-set do all the talking. There is nothing wrong with having emotion in the sport you love and play in, but what truly separates greatness are those humble enough to walk away from drama and stay true to their path.
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Players like Jerry Rice or even Lynn Swann for example are Pro Football Hall of Fame players for a reason. They had incredible stats, championship rings and well, they would never succumb to their opponents by acting like divas or getting visibly upset over something as trivial as a rankings list. Hopefully as the years go by, Beckham realizes he’s only scratched the surface of his overall potential and leaves the immaturity behind.