Cleveland Browns need Odell Beckham Jr. back in Week 3

Odell Beckham Jr. has missed the Cleveland Browns’ first two games of 2021 as he recovers from an ACL injury but the team needs him to return in Week 3.

Through the first two games of the 2021 season, you could argue that the results have gone to plan for the Cleveland Browns. A loss to the Chiefs in the season-opener was to be expected but it was promising that they hung with the defending AFC champs. Then, even if not by as wide of a margin as some fans would like, they handled business against Houston to move to 1-1.

What’s more impressive about this start for the Browns, however, is that they’ve been able to get to this point without Odell Beckham Jr. Yes, they made the playoffs without the star wide receiver for half of 2020 but, as he makes his way back from an ACL injury, Cleveland has legitimate Super Bowl aspirations that OBJ is a big part of.

The good news for Cleveland, though, is that Beckham hasn’t suffered a setback, impressed during training camp workouts and is simply being taken along slowly. In fact, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (subscriptions required) reported that Beckham could return to action in Week 3. And to be blunt, the Browns very much need that to happen.

The Cleveland Browns need Odell Beckham Jr. to keep their promising start going in Week 3.

As the Browns prepare to face the Bears in Week 3, the wide receiver depth chart is getting thin. After playing briefly this past week, veteran Jarvis Landry suffered a knee injury that landed him on IR, meaning he’ll miss the last three games.

While Cleveland has solid depth on the roster at the position with Donovan Peoples-Jones, rookie Anthony Schwartz and Rashard Higgins, no one in that group has been a consistent performer. And we saw last season in a late loss to the Jets when the Browns were down four wideouts due to COVID that the offense suffers when they are short-handed at wide receiver.

In that loss to New York, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for just 39 yards on 15 carries. The Jets were able to key in on the run and the lack of weapons was obvious, even if Baker Mayfield played well amid the circumstances.

Thus, getting Beckham back in Week 3 would be absolutely enormous for the Browns. It would force the Chicago defense, who has a weak secondary, to honor the superstar wide receiver, which allows them to continue running the offense through the backfield.

Outside of just being excited to see Odell Beckham Jr. back on the field and, hopefully, experience a bit of a resurgence as he returns, his team and offense need him on the field. Without him and with Landry out, that could be a tough ask for Mayfield and the running backs for however long that were to last.